After the recent thread discussing the number of soul events in the UK, I thought members might be interested in getting a picture of how many events take place across mainland Europe (including Eire) and in which countries and towns/cities they're happening.

The figures are drawn from the number of events listed in the Facebook group, The European Soul Club Network (ESCN), which I started up at the end of 2014 with the idea of finding out what was happening where and when.

The information below - the ESCN Soul Index - shows the most "soulful" countries and cities/towns based simply on the number of events listed in the European Soul Club Network during the past year. Additionally, alongside those figures are rankings and numbers of events for previous years.

For example, in the case of Germany, the figures show that it's #1 in the ESCN Soul Index with 119 recorded events. The figures in brackets show that Germany ranked #1 in 2017 with 85 events, and ranked #1 in 2016 with 65 events.

ESCN Soul Index 2018

Most soulful countries 2018 (2017+2016) 
#1 Germany = 119 (#1/85 + #1/65)
#2 Italy = 32 (#2/33 + #3/23)
#3 The Netherlands = 28 (#3/27 + #2/32)
#4 Sweden = 27 (#5/22 + #4/19)
#5 France = 25 (#7/14 + #6/10)
#5 Spain = 25 (#4/23 + #5/16)
#6 Denmark = 15 (#8/11 + #7/8)
#6 Ireland = 15 (#7/14)
#7 Belgium = 10 (#10/8 + #8/7)
#8 Greece = 9 (#11/7 + #11/3)
#9 Czech Republic = 6 (#10/8 + #9/5)
#10 Norway = 4 (-/-)
#10 Portugal = 4 (#13/5 + #12/2)
#10 Switzerland = 4 (#12/6 + #10/5)
#11 Austria = 2 (#14/2 + #13/1)

Total = 325 events (266/195)

Most soulful cities 2018 (2017/2016)
#1 Berlin (DE) = 25 (18/13)
#2 Amsterdam (NL) = 22 (25/27)
#3 Hamburg (DE) = 21 (20/20)
#4 Copenhagen (DK) = 15 (11/8)
#5 Dublin (IE) = 14 (13/-)
#6 Stockholm (SE) = 12 (13/11)
#7 Rome (IT) = 10 (4/-)
#8 Cologne (DE) = 9 (2/1)
#9 Athens (GR) = 8 (7/-)
#9 Gothenburg (SE) = 8 (7/6)
#9 Milan (IT) = 8 (7/4)
#10 Tübingen (DE) = 7 (5/4)
#11 Barcelona (ES) = 6 (7/7)
#11 Brussels (BE) = 6 (3/3)
#11 Nice (FR) = 6 (4/1)
#11 Prague (CZ) = 6 (5/5)
#12 Bilbao (ES) = 5 (4/-)
#12 Darmstadt (DE) = 5 (1/-)
#12 Lyon (FR) = 5 (-/-)
#12 Nuremberg (DE) = 5 (4/5)
#12 Örebro (SE) = 5 (-/-)
#12 Paris (FR) = 5 (6/7)
#13 Düsseldorf (DE) = 4 (2/-)
#13 Oslo (NO) = 4 (-/-)
#13 Stuttgart (DE) = 4 (5/4)
#13 Utrecht (NL) = 4 (1/-)
#13 Villingen-Schwenningen (DE) = 4 (4/-)
#14 Bremen (DE) = 3 (6/-)
#14 Dresden (DE) = 3 (3/-)
#14 Frankfurt (DE) = 3 (1/-)
#14 Madrid (ES) = 3 (2/-)
#14 Monchengladback (DE) = 3 (2/-)
#14 Paderborn (DE) = 3 (-/-)
#14 Pordenone (IT) = 3 (1/-)
#14 Saint Gallen (CH) = 3 (3/-)
#15 Albufeira (PT) = 2 (2/-)
#15 Antwerp (BE) = 2 (1/-)
#15 Bamberg (BE) = 2 (1/-)
#15 Bologna (IT) = 2 (-/-)
#15 Bordeaux (FR) = 2 (-/-)
#15 Eindhoven (NL) = 2 (-/-)
#15 Hagen (DE) = 2 (-/-)
#15 Munich (DE) = 2 (2/-)
#15 Oldenburg (DE) = 2 (2/-)
#15 Porto (PT) = 2 (2/-)
#15 Vienna (AT) = 2 (2/-)

Locations with one recorded event:
Aachen (DE) = I
Aix-en-Provence (FR) = I
Amiens (FR) = I
Avilés (ES) = I
Bayonne (FR) = I
Beckenried (CH) - I
Benidorm (ES) = I
Berchem (BE) = I
Bielefeld (DE) = I
Calvisson (FR) = I
Carpi (IT) = I
Collecchio (IT) = I
Corfu (GR) = I
Essen (DE) = I
Falun (SE) = I
Ferrera (IT) = I
Freiburg (DE) = I
Genova (IT) = I
Ibiza (ES) - I
Kassel (DE) = I
La Rochelle (FR) = I
Leuven (BE) = I
Linz (DE) = I
Limerick (IE) = I
Lubeck (DE) = I
Lucerne (CH) = I
Lucca (IT) = I
Malmo (SE) = I
Marbella (ES) = I
Marseille (FR) = I
Murcia (ES) = I
Pavia (IT) = I
Perpignan (FR) = I
Rimini (IT) = I
Rottweil (DE) = I
San Sebastien (ES) = I
Scorze (IT) = I
Tarragona (ES) = I
Töging am Inn (DE) = I
Tomelloso (ES) = I
Torremolinos (ES) = I
Turin (IT) = I
Valencia (ES) = I
Valladolid (ES) = I

What the ESCN Soul Index shows most clearly is that the number of recorded events across Europe is increasing year on year:

Total events 2016 = 195
Total events 2017 = 266
Total events 2018 = 325

The ESCN Soul Index also shows that Germany continues to be the clear frontrunner for the number of soul events held in a country, which works out at almost 10 events per month, with Berlin offering 25 events a year.

Source:
Russell Gilbert & The European Soul Club Network
https://www.facebook.com/groups/europeansoulclubnetwork/
 

Edited February 4, 20196 yr by Amsterdam Russ
Typo

Don't forget ' soul ( now and again) in the Sun'. Tenerife Playas Des Las Americas twice a year with about 900 each time...

And the soul lodge and other bars who take in the overspill.

Ed

That's really interesting (I love statistical analysis!) everywhere is growing, or more or less static and just the odd blip (Czech Republic?) downward. I guess this is similar to the number of events in the UK which seems to be forever upwards. The next step would be to see if the numbers attending are also static; that seems to be many people's take on the British scene that numbers overall are falling due to rising numbers of events and a static or slightly declining number of punters - not sure I agree though. 

Edited February 7, 20196 yr by Timillustrator

59 minutes ago, Timillustrator said:

That's really interesting (I love statistical analysis!) everywhere is growing, or more or less static and just the odd blip (Czech Republic?) downward. I guess this is similar to the number of events in the UK which seems to be forever upwards. The next step would be to see if the numbers attending are also static; that seems to be many people's take on the British scene that numbers overall are falling due to rising numbers of events and a static or slightly declining number of punters - not sure I agree though. 

In many cities events are quite well established or are making a name for themselves. Like anywhere, you live and die by the number of punters you get through the door. That’s why a lot of recurring events are held just a few times a year rather than, say, monthly. A good number are just once a year.

Holding events less regularly suggests promoters want to make them more special. That in turn indicates a lack of local support, thus attracting visitors from across borders is important to survival. And there is a solid crowd of people who are travelling all over Europe to attend events. 

Weekenders continue to be a growing phenomenon with a good number being fixed diary dates for many people. Just as people travelled up and down the UK (and still do), so people are flying to events in different countries in a borderless and easily accessible Europe.

Excluding Uk visitors to these events what would you say is the typical age range and are they attracting newcomers (old and young?) ?

Edited February 8, 20196 yr by bbrich

17 minutes ago, bbrich said:

Excluding Uk visitors to these events what would you say is the typical age range and are they attracting newcomers (old and young?) ?

Plenty of newcomers at events and a wide range of ages - that'a not just at events I've been to, but it's also very evident in the countless pics and video clips I've seen on the social media pages of the clubs themselves.