Liverpool City Region Music Board brings UK–EU touring discussion to Liverpool Welcomes Europe

Liverpool City Region Music Board led an important discussion on the future of UK–EU music touring, as part of this year’s Liverpool Welcomes Europe, hosted by Liverpool City Council.

Held at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, the session — Touring without Friction: Post-Brexit UK-EU Music Touring Challenges & Solutions — was chaired by Music Board Chair Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE, alongside Board member Andy Dockerty, Founder and Director of Adlib Audio.

The discussion brought together people working across the music and live events sector, including artists, managers, promoters, production specialists, venue leaders, policy representatives and civic partners. Participants included representatives from LIVE, Liverpool Philharmonic, ACC Liverpool Group, the Musicians’ Union, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Soft Power Hub, MusicFutures and Manchester Music City, alongside artists and businesses with direct experience of touring in Europe. The roundtable also welcomed Madelaine Tuininga, Minister Counsellor for Trade Affairs (EU) at the EU Delegation to the UK, who leads on trade and economic relations between the EU and UK and provided valuable insight into the policy and regulatory frameworks that shape cross-border touring and cultural exchange.

The session focused on a question that remains hugely important to the sector: how can touring between the UK and Europe work better in the years ahead?

Since Brexit, UK–EU touring has become more complicated, more expensive and less predictable. Attendees discussed the added restrictions now facing UK artists touring in Europe, and European artists coming to the UK, including issues around mobility, paperwork, costs, border requirements and differing rules across EU member states.

There was recognition that the tone of UK–EU dialogue has shifted, and that cultural exchange is being discussed more openly again. However, there was also concern that change remains slow, and that the music sector has not yet seen the practical improvements it needs.

The conversation looked at where progress could be made, from clearer and more consistent touring rules to reduced administrative burdens and better mobility arrangements for artists, crews and touring businesses.

A strong theme was the role of culture as soft power. Touring is not only an economic issue; it is also about relationships between places, cultural exchange and the ability of artists and audiences to connect across borders.

The session also explored the value of city-to-city collaboration. While most of the current barriers need action at national and international level, attendees discussed how cities can still play a meaningful role by building stronger cultural partnerships, sharing knowledge and creating practical gateways between music communities.

For Liverpool City Region Music Board, this is already a key area of focus. The Board has a dedicated Music Export Task and Finish Group, looking at the barriers facing artists, labels and music businesses as they build international opportunities. Both Jon Collins and Andy Dockerty sit on the group, helping to shape its work around export support, advocacy and better routes into international markets.

The session also reflected the Music Board’s wider ambition for Liverpool City Region to be an outward-facing, internationally connected music city region. Liverpool’s music identity is recognised around the world, but maintaining and growing that international reach means understanding the practical challenges the sector is facing now.

Liverpool Welcomes Europe is hosted by Liverpool City Council and supported by a broad coalition of civic, education, health, cultural and business partners. Grounded in the UK–EU reset and powered by Liverpool’s distinctive global identity, the programme brings together UK and European leaders to strengthen collaboration, share ideas and accelerate delivery.

The programme blends purposeful conversation with cultural moments and innovation showcases, creating the conditions for new connections, practical partnerships and momentum that lasts. The Music Board-hosted session formed part of a wider programme looking at issues including devolution and place-based diplomacy, AI and the music industry, Liverpool’s film sector, technology for good, and the real-world opportunities and challenges of the post-Brexit landscape.

By hosting this discussion, Liverpool City Region Music Board helped ensure that music touring, cultural exchange and export were firmly part of that wider conversation.

The Board will use the insight shared during the session to inform its ongoing Music Export work and to support future conversations about how Liverpool City Region can continue to build strong, practical and meaningful cultural links with Europe.