Everything an overseas concert trip costs

Ticket costs

• Face value — the number shown on the platform.
• Platform fees — many add a processing or issuing fee that appears at the last step.
• Service fee, if someone books on your behalf.
• Exchange rate and foreign transaction fees from your card issuer — the most commonly forgotten line.

Travel costs

• Return flights. Prices tend to jump once a concert date is announced, so booking early helps.
• Accommodation, counted in nights rather than days.
• Local transport at the destination, including an airport run at a possibly very early or very late hour.
• Travel insurance, if you take it.
• Visa costs, where required.

On-the-day costs people forget

• Food across queueing days, which usually run longer than expected.
• Bag storage at the venue, since many do not allow large bags inside.
• Official merchandise, if you plan to buy.
• A buffer day before or after in case of a delayed flight or a rescheduled show.

Budgeting safely

Add all of the above, then add a contingency. What breaks a budget is rarely one missed large item; it is many small ones together.

And decide your total ceiling before the on-sale. Inside a queue with a countdown on screen, almost nobody does arithmetic well.