Let's sing later: Russians hand over tickets to Timberlake's concert in Azerbaijan
A concert by Justin Timberlake will be held in the Azerbaijani capital at the end of July. Some of the tickets for the show were bought by Russian fans of the world star's work. However, some of them are now trying to sell or return the tunnels in light of the tension between Moscow and Baku. Representatives of the tourism industry reassure that there are no cases of violence against tourists from the Russian Federation, but urge them to remain reasonably cautious. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
"It's scary and unclear what to expect"
After the number of performances by big foreign stars in the Russian Federation decreased significantly, some Russians paid more attention to event tourism and began to fly to idol concerts in other countries. For example, in January 2025 — in the UAE for Coldplay, in June — in Kazakhstan for Thirty Seconds to Mars. On July 27, many people planned a trip to the Justin Timberlake show in Baku, but amid the tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan, some decided to change their plans.
— I bought a ticket at the end of April for about 11 thousand rubles to the "golden" sector on the dance floor — it's right in front of the stage. I was really looking forward to this trip, and I could fly — there are flights and no one took my ticket away. But I'll try to get it back. This decision is related to the issue of my personal safety, which I am not sure about now," said one of the interlocutors of Izvestia, who wished to remain anonymous.
Justin Timberlake Concert
The refund fee is 30% of the cost. Someone is trying to sell tickets. Ads are running in thematic chats and on ad services.
— We chose the fan zone because we wanted to be as close to the artist as we were at the Bruno Mars concert in Tbilisi in October 2023. One ticket cost about 13 thousand rubles. We bought seven in total — a large group of friends gathered. But now everyone who was planning to go with us says they don't know what to do because it's scary. We are currently looking at new tickets to Istanbul, and these have been posted on Avito and another website. There are more and more offers. For 7 thousand rubles, even for 5 thousand, there is a fan zone - that is, someone is ready to throw off more than half of the cost to sell a ticket and not go, because it's really unclear what to expect, concerts of many of our artists have been canceled," Anna Nigokhosova from Moscow shared with Izvestia.
Dream Fest
Some of the Russian audience planned to combine a trip to Timberlake's concert with a visit to the Dream Fest festival, which will be held on the coast of the Caspian Sea from July 23 to 26. Earlier in his program, in addition to foreign stars, a large pool of Russian artists was announced — Egor Creed, Klava Coca, Timati, Alsou, Alyona Apina and others. On June 30, it became known that the organizers were updating the program in connection with the statement of the local Ministry of Culture about the cancellation of cultural events in the country by Russian public and private institutions. Now the above-mentioned artists are not included in the program on the festival's website.
— Baku's attitude towards Russia is incorrect. Russian Russian artists are not welcome in the country, and their performances are canceled, so my reaction is consistent with such expressions towards the Russian people. I gave my ticket to Justin Timberlake to my friends from Baku," Milena Dorokhina, the Russian PR director of the artists, told Izvestia.
Tickets for Dream Fest are available to the Russian public at Kassir.ru Izvestia sent a request for their refunds in the light of the line change, but service representatives declined to comment.
Rapper Basta
Other concerts planned at the resort include Basta's performance on August 30. Now an error is being opened on ticket sales sites where the announcement once hung.
What do the experts of the tourism industry say?
Tension between the Russian Federation and Baku arose after a raid by security forces in the Urals. On June 27, searches and detentions took place in Yekaterinburg as part of a criminal investigation into an ethnic criminal group. The defendants, according to investigators, are involved in a number of episodes of murders and attempted murders in the Sverdlovsk region in 2001, 2010 and 2011.
Baku reacted violently to this. The matter was not limited to the cancellation of performances by Russian artists. A series of arrests of Russian citizens in Azerbaijan followed, first involving journalists from several publications, followed by eight men, including, according to media reports, IT specialists, a psychologist, and tourists. The latter are accused of drug trafficking and cyber fraud.
The Russian Foreign Ministry recommends that Russians staying in Azerbaijan or planning a trip there take into account the current situation.
— The attitude towards tourists is more or less calm in Azerbaijan. We do not see any cases of violence. A concert is a massive event. No one will guarantee that everything there is adequate," Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia (ATA), said in an interview with Izvestia.
According to the expert, the decline in sales to Azerbaijan has already reached 50%, and the figures are unlikely to recover in the near future. The Russian Union of Travel Industry, on the contrary, does not record a decrease in bookings of tours in this direction.
"Cancellations are isolated, within the norm. Our colleagues in Azerbaijan confirm that the attitude towards Russian tourists remains friendly. We ask tourists, as always, to remain reasonably cautious, be attentive and follow the official messages," said Ilya Umansky, President of the PCT, in a published message.
In case of emergency, Russian tourists in Azerbaijan are advised to contact the local Embassy of the Russian Federation.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
