AEG Presents announced today that Jim King, currently Executive Vice President of Live Music is to take on a new role as CEO of European Festivals. This division launches with the appointment of King and will build on AEG’s already strong presence in the European festival market which currently includes world class events Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park, All Points East and Rock En Seine in Paris. 

Having launched and established Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park as one of the world’s premier festivals, the 2019 series kicked off last weekend with headline shows by music legends Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand. 

King will be tasked with seeking out and developing a host of new opportunities in the festival space.  King will lead on all aspects of talent and operations for the current and future portfolio of festivals to deliver AEG’s festival vision. A hugely respected and popular figure in the music industry and the artist community alike, King will continue to be based in the London office reporting directly into President of AEG Europe, Alex Hill. 

King will work alongside AEG Presents’ UK CEO’s Steve Homer and Toby Leighton-Pope, also reporting directly to Hill. They will continue to focus on growing the touring business in Europe and the UK. Highlights from the past year include Hugh Jackman playing six nights at The O2 and selling 300,000 tickets across Europe and Shawn Mendes and Michael Bublé arena tours. AEG Presents total offering in the UK stands at around one thousand shows. Homer and Leighton-Pope continue to oversee AEG Presents’ UK venues, the Eventim Apollo and Indigo at The O2. 

Jim King said, "I really believe that AEG does something truly special when it comes to festivals. The music fans and the artists are always at the heart of our thinking and this has meant we have been able to curate shows that resonate with them and keep both coming back. We have an incredible team and together we will meet this exciting challenge. I’m looking forward to working closely with Alex in finding and developing new opportunities to build on and maintain AEG’s leadership in this sector.”

Alex Hill said, “Jim is without a doubt the very best at what he does. We wanted to give him the freedom to accelerate AEG’s activity in the festival space hence the creation of this division and his leadership role at the head of it. I know that he and his team are going to do great things and being able to confirm him in this job as we approach the second weekend of BST Hyde Park seems very fitting indeed.”

King has worked at AEG Presents for over a decade following his time working for club brand Cream which saw him launch and run Creamfields. Prior to joining AEG King ran his own company Loud Sound that produced a variety of UK festivals.