Which circuits host the biggest concerts over Grand Prix weekends? Which races do the biggest stars perform at? Learn about the top circuits to visit on the Formula 1 calendar for trackside concerts.
In 2024, attending a Formula 1 race is much more than just watching three days of on-track action. The world-class drivers battling at the pinnacle of motorsport is still undoubtedly the star attraction but race promoters have made big gains over the past decade or so in making Formula 1 race weekends more like a festival event, with a plethora of trackside events.
In the late noughties, race promoters jumped on the trend of attracting the world’s biggest music acts to their venues to complement Formula 1 race weekends. The Singapore Grand Prix was first to fully embrace the trend, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix at COTA soon joining in.
The addition of concerts at Formula 1 races is a positive for both fans and race organisers. With almost all of the trackside concerts free to attend for ticket holders, racegoers get more entertainment value for their money, while race organisers benefit by attracting non-traditional Formula 1 fans to their event.
Below, we’ve ranked the best F1 races to attend for trackside concerts. At the end, we’ve also included some of the other events – such as the Australian Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix – which do not have trackside concerts but are in the centre of a city with a range of evening entertainment options.
8. 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (September 13-15)
- Location: Baku City Circuit
- The musical offering at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been scaled back in recent years
- Learn more: 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Travel Guide
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix may have one of the more modest-sized attendances of the year but the event still attracts well known artists to complement the on-track action. Mariah Carey, Cardi B, and Jamiroquai are just some of the headline names who’ve performed at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.
In 2018 and 2019, the concerts were held at the Baku Crystal Hall, famous for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. The arena is an hour’s walk along the foreshore from the circuit. In previous years, event organisers put on free shuttle buses to help fans get to the Crystal Hall.
There were no trackside concerts at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2021, when the race was held behind closed doors, or in 2022, when coronavirus-related restrictions prevented the concerts from taking place.
Trackside concerts returned in 2023 but were scaled back and took place at a new location, on a stage in the Fanzone on the Bulvar. Dutch DJs Don Diablo and Hardwell were the headline performers. Acts are yet to be announced for the next Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, which moves to a later slot on the calendar in 2024.
7. 2024 Qatar Grand Prix (November 29 – December 1)
- Location: Lusail Circuit
- Qatar is attracting big name acts to headline its concerts as Lusail Circuit establishes its position on the Formula 1 calendar
- Learn more: 2024 Qatar Grand Prix Travel Guide
Held amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Qatar Grand Prix had a modest-sized entertainment offering when it first appeared on the Formula 1 calendar in 2021. A selection of local artists performed in the Fanzone, located behind the main grandstand.
When the event returned for its second appearance in 2023, the concert line-up was supersized. Egyptian singer Amr Diab, Swedish DJ Alesso and global superstar Bruno Mars were lined-up to perform after the conclusion of each day’s on-track action at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
Unfortunately, on the day of the race, Bruno Mars was forced to pull out of performing. DJ Snake was drafted in to perform in the vacated Sunday headliner slot instead.
Acts for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix weekend have not yet been announced, but you can expect more big names to complement the on-track action at the penultimate race of the 2024 F1 season.
6. 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (March 7-9)
- Location: Jeddah Corniche Circuit
- Race organisers have attracted global megastars in Saudi Arabia’s first three seasons on the F1 calendar
- Learn more: 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Travel Guide
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2021 and race organisers set about securing some big name stars to headline nightly concerts at the event. Justin Bieber was the Sunday night headliner, performing after the inaugural race, while other performances over the race weekend came from David Guetta, ASAP Rocky, Jason Derulo, and DJ Tiesto.
There were further trackside concerts in 2022, from Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Clean Bandit, Wiz Khalifa and DJ R3HAB. There were six headline acts at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2023, with Afrojack and Calvin Harris performing after Saturday’s qualifying session and Travis Scott and Ahmed Saad taking to the stage after the Grand Prix on Sunday.
All performances at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix take place on the vast Main Stage in the Fanzone, located near Turn 13. All ticket holders are able to attend at no additional cost. Headline acts for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix are yet to be announced.
5. 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix (November 21-23)
- Location: Las Vegas Strip Circuit
- Experience the best of Las Vegas’ eclectic entertainment offering over the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend
- Learn more: 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Travel Guide
As expected, the Las Vegas Grand Prix’s entertainment offering seriously impressed when the event first appeared on the calendar in 2023. J Balvin, Major Lazer and Mark Ronson were announced as the initial headline stars taking to the stage over the weekend and they were later joined by the likes of Kylie Minogue and Nile Rodgers.
Furthermore, an additional Opening Ceremony was held on Wednesday night, featuring a smorgasbord of iconic musical acts, like Journey, Keith Urban, will.i.am, Swedish House Mafia and Thirty Seconds To Mars.
The headline acts for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be announced at a later date.
Of course, if you’re in the city on race weekend, you’ll be able to check out Las Vegas’ other entertainment offerings too. In 2023, iconic trio Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil wowed audiences with a taster of their Las Vegas shows during the Grand Prix weekend.
In 2023, acts performed in the T-Mobile Zone at Sphere, the new 19,000 capacity venue which opened just ahead of the inaugural event. The Las Vegas Grand Prix runs a little differently to other races, with your ticket allowing access only to your chosen zone. Only ticket holders for the T-Mobile Zone at Sphere were able to attend the concerts in 2023.
4. 2024 British Grand Prix (July 5-7)
- Location: Silverstone
- Well-known acts perform in the large entertainment zone when each day’s track action is over
- Learn more: 2024 British Grand Prix Travel Guide
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone has taken a real step up in recent years in attracting some of the biggest names in music to perform over the race weekend. Race organisers provide race-goers with performances each evening from well-known national and international acts.
Since 2023, a special launch event is held on Thursday night. The downside is that entry to the track on Thursday is no longer free. Instead, a 4-day ticket is required, adding £100 on to the cost of a 3-day ticket.
Headline acts for the 2024 British Grand Prix were announced well in advance of the event, back in September 2023. In 2024, Kings of Leon headline the Thursday night launch party, Stormzy will perform on Friday night, Pete Tong will entertain the Saturday night crowd and Rudimental will perform after the Grand Prix on Sunday. Further acts will be announced in due course.
For 2023, the concert zone at Silverstone was expanded to accommodate up to 40,000 music fans. Calvin Harris headlined the Thursday night event, with the three following evenings headlined by Jax Jones, Black Eyed Peas and Tom Grennan. Other performances came from Cat Burns, Jess Glynne, Mae Muller and The Big Moon.
In 2022, chart-toppers Bastille, Mabel, Sigala and Example headlined the main stage, while Eurovision star Sam Ryder performed the national anthem ahead of the Grand Prix and performed on stage after the race.
At Silverstone, concerts take place on each night of the race weekend in the main entertainment zone, located adjacent to the Wellington Straight and near the Luffield complex. It’s handily located next to a wide range of takeaway stalls and bars, plus the F1 Fanzone. The concerts are complemented by driver appearances, ensuring hours of entertainment after the on-track action has finished.
3. 2024 United States Grand Prix (October 18-20)
- Location: Circuit of The Americas
- Some of the biggest names in music descend on COTA’s superstage, joined by local acts at smaller stages around the track
- Learn more: 2024 United States Grand Prix Travel Guide
The introduction of trackside concerts at the United States Grand Prix helped to grow the annual attendance figure at Circuit of The Americas – which was the best-attended race weekend of the season in both 2021 and 2022, and remained very near the top of the best-attended F1 races in 2023.
Headline performers for the 2024 United States Grand Prix have not yet been announced. In recent years, headline artists have been revealed in late March or early April.
In recent years, COTA has attracted some of the biggest names in music, from rock royalty The Killers and Queen + Adam Lambert in 2023 to Green Day and Ed Sheeran in 2022. Elton John, The Weeknd, Billy Joel, Britney Spears and Stevie Wonder – to name but a few – have also recently performed at the track.
COTA’s biggest coup came in 2016, when Taylor Swift performed her only concert on American soil that year at COTA on United States Grand Prix weekend. The news came amid fears that the United States Grand Prix could be dropped from the Formula 1 calendar. The 2016 attendance figure was up by over 45,000 on the previous year – much of that being down to Swift’s headline concert.
The Texas venue continues to have no problem in securing world-renowned artists and the annual performances continue to be one of the highlights of the United States Grand Prix weekend. Concerts take place on the COTA superstage, located adjacent to the back straight, between Turns 11 and 12.
After the race on Sunday, another concert takes place on the smaller Amphitheater stage. There are a number of other stages located around the track at which local acts play throughout the weekend. Entry to all concerts is free for F1 ticket holders, but you can get closer to the stage for the headline events by purchasing a ticket upgrade (upgrades will available at a later date for the 2024 United States Grand Prix).
2. 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (December 6-8)
- Location: Yas Marina Circuit
- A big name headline act takes to the stage at Etihad Park on all four nights of the Grand Prix weekend – guest performances are common!
- Learn more: 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Travel Guide
The selection of concerts at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix seems to get bigger and better each year. Performances take place from Thursday to Sunday across all four days of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, with four major acts headlining.
Formerly part of the month-long Yasalam Festival – which also included free concerts, film screenings and community events in Abu Dhabi – the Yasalam After-Race Concerts capture the spirit of the festival, streamlined into four days.
Headline acts for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix have not yet been announced. The initial acts are usually announced around six months prior to the race taking place, with further announcements in the following months.
At the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, headline performers included Foo Fighters, Shania Twain, Chris Brown, Ava Max and Tiësto. In 2022, Def Leppard, Kendrick Lamar, Dave and Swedish House Mafia became the latest acts to headline the event. Other previous headliners have included an array of A-list musical stars, like Muse, Kylie Minogue, Sam Smith, Foo Fighters, Eminem, Lewis Capaldi and Stormzy.
The concerts take place at the impressive Etihad Park, which was previously known as the Du Arena. It’s located near Ferrari World, beside the North Grandstand at Turn 5 of Yas Marina Circuit.
Access to the concerts is free but you’ll need a valid ticket to enter the circuit on the day which the concert takes place. Golden Circle upgrades can be purchased for the concerts, giving you access to the best seats plus fast-track entry. Golden Circle upgrades for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be available in our ticket shop at a later date, usually at the same time as the headline acts are announced.
1. 2024 Singapore Grand Prix (September 20-22)
- Location: Marina Bay Street Circuit
- The Singapore Grand Prix has a festival feel with many international and local acts across multiple stages
- Learn more: 2024 Singapore Grand Prix Travel Guide
The Singapore Grand Prix was the first Formula 1 event to truly embrace trackside concerts at race weekends and it remains the gold standard for a true music festival experience. Since it was first staged in 2008, a plethora of musical acts have performed at the original night race.
Acts for the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix have not yet been announced. The first acts are usually announced around five months before the race weekend. The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix weekend was headlined by Post Malone and Robbie Williams, with further performances form Kings of Leon, Culture Club, Madness and Groove Armada.
The Killers, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and Tom Jones are among the names who’ve previously graced the main Padang stage at the Singapore Grand Prix. The 2022 headliners were Green Day, Westlife and Marshmello, with the likes of Black Eyed Peas and Suede also performing.
Beyond the eclectic range of headliners, the Singapore Grand Prix also showcases a diverse selection of local acts and K-pop stars.
The concerts take place across two stages – the main Padang stage in Zone 4 and the smaller Wharf stage in Zone 1. The only drawback to there being so many concerts over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend is that some of the performances can clash with the on-track action. In some cases, you’ll need to prioritise what you want to see – the racing or the concerts!
Other F1 races to attend for trackside concerts
While the eight races listed above provide the biggest shows and the broadest range of performers, many other races on the calendar also feature trackside performances from less well-known, local acts.
European events such as the Belgian Grand Prix and the Hungarian Grand Prix regularly feature local bands performing trackside concerts. In addition, DJ sets after the podium celebrations have become a staple of some races in recent years, such as the Dutch Grand Prix, the Mexico City Grand Prix and the Miami Grand Prix.
Even if there are no trackside concerts planned, you may still be within visiting distance of big name evening entertainment at a number of Formula 1’s city races:
2024 Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne has a number of good, large concert venues – including the Forum and the Palais Theatre – as well as other independent venues and jazz clubs.
Maisie Peters performs at Margaret Court Arena on qualifying day, while The Dead South are at Forum Melbourne after the Grand Prix on Sunday March 24.
Halestorm, The Damned, Suzi Quatro and Lainey Wilson are among the other acts also performing in Melbourne in the days leading up to the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
2024 Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal has a huge music scene, with plenty of bars, clubs and concert halls to check out during your visit. There were also some bigger acts performing in the city close to the Canadian Grand Prix last year.
Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy performed at Place Bell in the days leading up to the race, while Canadian country star Shania Twain headlined at the Bell Centre on the day of the Grand Prix. Headliners for the venues in early June 2024 have not yet been announced.
2024 Miami Grand Prix
The Kaseya Center (formerly the FTX Arena) – a 20 minute drive from Miami International Autodrome – is where you’ll find the biggest concerts in the city. A special MiamiBash show is planned for Saturday May 4 – Sprint Saturday at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix – featuring the likes of Wisin, Anitta, Young Miko and Zion & Lennox.
Aside from concerts, there were a wide range of activities for racing enthusiasts to enjoy over both the 2022 and 2023 Miami Grand Prix weekends.
