Bangli Could Help Put Bali On Map As Top Concert Destination For Tourists 

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Bali has clearly stated its mission of becoming the next big live music destination in Southeast Asia.

With the province already bringing in huge international artists every month to play at the island’s biggest beach club venues, the only thing holding Bali back is a stadium, and all that is about to change.

The Bangli Sports Centre, which is being built in Bangli Regency, has been touted by the Regent of Bangli, Sedana Arta, as holding the potential to become the island’s next biggest music venue.

Regent Artha has grand ideas for the stadium and visions of Bangli Regency becoming the center of the music scene on the island. 

In a press statement, Regent Artha told the media, “We will build a Bangli Sports Center with an indoor field with a capacity of 10,000 spectators. Apart from sports, this can be used to make Bangli a Concert City.”

Work on the Bangli Sports Centre is already underway, and the IDR 650 billion project will be one of the most modern sports facilities on the island.

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Regent Artha is dreaming big with the ideas for his 10,000-capacity stadium, name-dropping big artists whom he’d like to see the likes of in his home community.

He told reporters, “Tickets for Shakira’s concert are IDR 3-10 million. If you average it at just IDR 3 million multiplied by 10,000 spectators. It costs IDR 30 billion for people to buy tickets. The entertainment tax is 15 percent, so Bangli gets more or less IDR 4.5 billion in entertainment tax.” 

He added, “[the other day] the Minister Sandiaga Uno couldn’t go to Singapore because there was a concert. Imagine if all the tourists and young people of Southeast Asia went to Bangli. We get entertainment tax, Badung gets PHR because they sleep in hotels in Badung.”

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Bangli Regency is currently best known to tourists as the home of Kintamani, Mount Batur, Lake Batur, and Penglipuran Village; as a destination best known for its culture and nature, bringing in more live events, whether sport or music, will certainly add a level of versatility to the region.

However, a 10,000-seater stadium is not that big, especially when it comes to helping secure major international artists.

The Jakarta International Stadium, for example, can hold 82,000 people. A 10,000-person capacity is only a little over some of Bali’s biggest beach club venues. 

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Regent Artha has already garnered support from leaders around the island. Regent Giri Prasta, the Regent of Badung, has already given his backing to Regent Artha’s big plans for Bangli.

“According to our data collection, there are a lot of Bangli people who work in Badung district. So this is also a form of our service, according to regulations, providing assistance to the community.”

He added, “As a manifestation of that, we are providing assistance to the Bangli district government.” He has also pledged financial support from the Badung Regency budget to the development of the Bangli Sports Centre.

He said, “Therefore, we will start with the assistance of IDR 30 billion. We will increase the main APBD budget for 2025 to 2026. Just prove it later.”

More big artists could be coming to Indonesia, and Bali specifically, very soon.

Earlier this year, the Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, Sandiaga Uno, announced the launch of the Indonesian Tourism Fund, which will be used to help bid for and secure major international artists on tour.

Government tourism development funds and entertainment funds are used to bid for exclusivity on sections of artists’ world tours.

Minster Uno told reporters in February, “We need several incentives first; we need what the Singapore government and the Australian government did, namely bringing in Taylor Swift.”