Shows of Jennifer Lopez in Central Asia turned into more than just music events, becoming a competition over which city would reap the bigger financial rewards. The results showed Tashkent leading the way, generating almost three times the tax revenues of Almaty and attracting twice as many overseas visitors.
On August 7, Lopez performed at the Milliy Stadium (formerly Bunyodkor) in Tashkent before an audience of more than 31,000 people. Among them were 15,300 foreign guests, giving a significant boost to tourism. The city’s budget benefitted from 42.5 bn soums, equivalent to around $3.3m, in tax revenues.
A week later, on August 16, Lopez took the stage at Almaty’s Central Stadium, drawing an estimated 27,000 spectators, including 7,000 visitors from abroad. The Kazakh city collected 600 mln tenge, about $1.2 mln, in taxes.
The comparison leaves little doubt: by both fiscal return and tourist appeal, Tashkent emerged the clear winner in hosting Jennifer Lopez’s Central Asian concerts.
