Nick Cave Sells Out Both Pula Arena Nights

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds have sold out both of their concerts at the Pula Arena, scheduled for August 4 and 5. What began as a single night has grown into two, and not a single ticket remains for either.

The first date, August 5, was the original booking. Tickets went on sale last October and everything vanished in just five days. That was fast enough for organizers to see that one night would never be enough. So a second date, August 4, was added. And as things stand now, it too has sold out.

Audiences across the region have been waiting a long time for this return. The Pula Arena, a Roman amphitheatre nearly two thousand years old, is one of those places where Cave’s repertoire sounds exactly as it should: heavy, ceremonial, faintly haunted. Two open-air nights inside stone that remembers gladiators are part of the European leg of the current Wild God tour.

Why did the tickets vanish so fast?

Because Nick Cave is not an artist you listen to in passing. His concerts are events people travel for, and Pula has been a favorite destination for audiences from this part of Europe for decades. Pair a name of that stature with an amphitheatre that holds only a few thousand people and the math is simple. There is far less supply than desire.

The Wild God tour follows the album of the same name, and Cave’s shows on it are described as emotionally intense, almost like a ritual. There are no effects for the sake of effects. There is a voice, a piano, backing vocals and an audience singing every word. That is precisely why tickets for nights like these are not bought at the last minute, but the moment they appear.

For anyone left without a ticket, not all is lost. There is one more chance, and it is closer than many think.

What if you missed the Pula tickets?

The nearest option for fans in Serbia is the concert on August 7 at Belgrade’s Kalemegdan. That means just two days after the second Pula date, Cave arrives in Belgrade. For many who failed to grab a ticket for the Arena, the fortress above the river confluence will be the natural plan B, and a plan B that sounds like something quite special.

Kalemegdan and Nick Cave are a pairing that suggests itself. Stone ramparts, the river in the background, a summer evening and music that demands a serious space anyway. If the Pula Arena sold out in five days, it is clear that Belgrade will also require a quick decision from those who want to be there.

So the only question left is for you, dear readers: where would you rather stand that evening, in the Roman amphitheatre in Pula or beneath the walls of Kalemegdan while Nick Cave sings?