London is officially one of the world’s best cities for music lovers

A night out in London might cost a bomb, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. Our city is packed full of grassroots music venues, has created some of the world’s biggest musical artists, and given birth to hugely influential genres like grime and dubstep. 

Not convinced yet? A new study has just revealed that the English capital is the best city on the world for music fans. Researchers at SeatPick analysed cities around the world for their number of concerts, music venues, festivals, home-grown artists and music-related businesses to give each city an overall music score out of 10. 

Taking the top spot for 2025 was London, scoring 9.67 out of 10 thanks to its 199 venues, 1,734 concerts, 44 festivals and, most impressively, 3,042 homegrown artists.

This isn’t to say that London’s music scene hasn’t had its fair share of challenges. Recently, the Mayor of London launched a ‘nightlife taskforce’ to boost late-night activity in the capital amid soaring operating costs and alarming closures of nightlife venues. Let’s hope this taskforce can help keep London in the top spot. 

It’s not just SeatPick that thinks London is a superior music city. The Big Smoke also took the top spot in a recent ranking of Europe’s music capitals, which also incorporated the number of nightclubs. 

Coming in second on the list was the home of techno and Berghain, Berlin, scoring 9.55. The German city was followed by Chicago, Vienna, and Nashville respectively. Read more about the global ranking here. 

The 10 best cities in the world for music lovers

1. London
2. Berlin
3. Chicago
4. Vienna
5. Nashville
6. Manchester
7. New York
8. Glasgow
9. Seattle 
10. Bristol

In pictures: Beyoncé fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the Cowboy Carter Tour in London. 

Dua Lipa is opening a Radical Optimism pop-up shop in London this week. 

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