Celtic have spent the summer adding players to Martin O’Neill’s squad, but I’m starting to think the most lucrative signing of the lot might actually be Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Hear me out.
Oasis Live ’27 is officially sold out. All 42 shows. Estimates had around 2.67 million tickets available for the original 38 dates before another four were added due to the frankly ridiculous demand.
And where have arguably the biggest band in the world right now decided to kick the whole thing off?
Paradise.
Five nights at Celtic Park. May 21, 23, 25, 28 and 29, with Richard Ashcroft supporting.
I mean, come on. That is some way to bring concerts back to Celtic Park after more than 30 years.
It also got me thinking about the money involved here, because this isn’t just a brilliant five nights for Glasgow. Celtic could be sitting on an absolute goldmine.
The Athletic recently looked at what football clubs can make from hosting concerts, with figures of around £1.2million to £1.4million per 50,000 people being mentioned.
Now, before somebody gets the calculator out and tells me I’m talking rubbish, we don’t know the terms of Celtic’s agreement. Nobody outside the people involved does.
Celtic Park holds around 60,000 for football, while a concert obviously changes everything. You’ve got thousands standing on the pitch but you’ll lose seats behind the stage.
Even so, we’re talking about five absolutely enormous gigs.
Could Celtic’s overall benefit end up around £6million, £7million, maybe even £8million?
We’ll find out eventually.
But it does leave me asking one pretty obvious question.
Where the hell has this been for the last 30 years?
Seriously.
If Oasis can look around Scotland and say, “Aye, we’ll open our WORLD TOUR with five nights at Celtic Park”, surely that tells Celtic something.
We’ve got the stadium. We’ve got Glasgow. We’ve got a ground known throughout European football for its atmosphere.
Why aren’t we doing this more often?
With all due respect to Hampden, and I’m being generous saying that, nobody goes there and comes away talking about what an unbelievable atmosphere the place creates.
Celtic Park is different.
Stick 60-odd thousand people in there, put Oasis on the stage and tell me that isn’t going to be absolutely bouncing.
There’s also something that just feels right about Oasis being the band to bring the big gigs back.
The Gallagher brothers’ Irish heritage is well known. Their mum Peggy comes from County Mayo and their dad Tommy from County Meath. Noel has also spoken about Celtic over the years, although let’s not kid ourselves – those two are Manchester City daft first and foremost.
Then you look at the dates.
This is where it gets a wee bit odd.
Oasis play Celtic Park on May 25, 2027.
Exactly 60 years to the day since Celtic beat Inter Milan in Lisbon and became European champions.
You couldn’t have planned it better.
And Celtic certainly aren’t hiding from this anniversary. Have you seen the Adidas stuff this season? They’re squeezing every last drop out of the Lisbon 60th – and fair enough. If you’ve got history like that, celebrate it.
But it creates a really interesting situation.
What exactly happens on May 25?
I’d be amazed if there wasn’t a wee doff of the cap from Oasis at some point. Even just Liam saying something before a song. It would almost be weird if it wasn’t acknowledged when they’re literally standing inside Celtic Park on the exact anniversary.
But I wouldn’t be turning the Oasis gig into a Lisbon Lions tribute either.
You’ve got people travelling from everywhere to see Oasis. Plenty won’t support Celtic. Plenty won’t even like Celtic.
I’m going with an Ibrox season-ticket holder for goodness sake!
He’s going to see Oasis. He’s not turning up hoping for a 20-minute Jimmy Johnstone montage before Live Forever starts.
So there has to be a wee bit of common sense around it.
Celtic surely have something else planned for the proper 60th anniversary celebrations.
They certainly did for the 50th.
Back in 2017 there was a civic reception, events at Celtic Park, a legends match and the massive Celebrate ’67 night at the Hydro with around 13,000 supporters there.
Surely we’re not getting to 60 years and going, “Don’t worry lads, Liam Gallagher’s got it covered.”
There will be something else.
Then, just to make this run of gigs even more ridiculous, four days after the Lisbon anniversary comes my night.
Saturday, May 29.
Noel Gallagher’s 60th birthday.
Noel was born on May 29, 1967, four days after Celtic lifted the European Cup.
So he’s going to turn 60 on stage at Celtic Park during the same week Celtic celebrates 60 years since Lisbon.
I’m not going to lie, I absolutely love that.
Oasis are my favourite band of all time. I’m going to see them at my football club, on Noel Gallagher’s 60th birthday, at the opening leg of another enormous world tour.
That’s bucket-list stuff for me. Standing on the pitch at Celtic Park, watching the best band in the world.
Away from my own excitement, though, Celtic really need to learn from this.
Celtic Park is an asset.
A massive one.
Will the facilities be improved ahead of this?
We talk endlessly about how Celtic grow revenues. How do we compete financially? How do we close some of the gap to clubs in bigger leagues?
Well, here’s one sitting right in front of us.
You’ve got a 60,000-seat stadium sitting in one of Britain’s biggest cities. One of the biggest bands on the planet clearly believes it is good enough to host five consecutive stadium shows.
Don’t wait another 30 years after this.
Get more of them in.
Get the biggest artists you can. Get Celtic Park used throughout the summer. Make millions from the stadium rather than having it sitting there waiting for the football to start again.
For once, this is one Celtic money-making scheme I am fully behind!
And what a way to start it again.
Five nights.
Oasis.
Celtic Park.
Lisbon’s 60th anniversary slap bang in the middle of it and Noel Gallagher’s 60th birthday to finish the run.
The best atmosphere in Scotland and the biggest band around right now.
Tell you what.
That might be the best bit of business Celtic do all summer.
