The sun shines on live stage.

UK's biggest summer of live music

By Gordon Masson

George Michael's two shows at the new Wembley Stadium over the weekend are being heralded as a key staging point in the biggest summer for live music the UK industry has yet seen.

Michael became the first artist to play the rebuilt venue when he performed in front of 65,000 people both last Saturday and Sunday night, kicking off a 2007 season of seven events, across which around 450,000 tickets will be sold in total.

Wembley's return as a music venue will be followed in a fortnight's time by Bon Jovi playing the first concert on June 24 at the newly- launched The O2 complex in Greenwich. Between them, the new venues are expected to swell the UK live industry by more than 1.5m ticket sales by the end of the year.

At the same time a growing number of new festivals will further boost live-sector coffers, cementing the UK's reputation as the healthiest live music market in the world.

The past weekend alone saw 50,000 people per day at the Isle of Wight Festival and 35,000 each day at Rock Ness in Scotland. They are now among more than 30 UK festivals with a daily capacity of 20,000-plus, while Glastonbury remains the biggest draw at 140,000 per day.