As tickets for the renowned band Oasis became available for public purchase at 8am on a Saturday morning, many fans were disheartened to find that achieving their goal of booking standing room or a reserved seat at Croke Park for next summer wasn’t as simple as an early rise. Minutes after the tickets were released, the digital queue flooded with hundreds of thousands of eager fans, leading to a number of users reporting system crashes and error messages like “Error 503 backend.max_conn” instead of their position in line.
Even the fortunate fans who managed a smooth entry from the virtual waiting room came face-to-face with disappointment, discovering they were far from the front of the queue. The magnitude of the band’s appeal and the excitement over their reunion after nearly two decades meant that in the first 10 minutes of tickets being on sale, over half a million people had logged on in hopes of securing their place at the event.
The surge in demand for the Croke Park shows could partially be attributed to the fact that the tickets for these Irish dates were released an hour ahead of the UK sales. Concert promoters MCD didn’t give an explanation for this decision and refrained from divulging the total quantity of tickets available for the general sale.
It’s probable that a large number of the 160,000 tickets had been claimed in advance by individuals who participated in the three-hour presale on Friday evening. Since most hopeful attendees were likely to purchase either a pair or a quartet of tickets, the likelihood of anyone standing behind more than 20,000 fans procuring reasonably priced tickets seemed slim.
The ticket pricing certainly stoked controversy among fans, as many were taken aback by the cost of attendance. Indeed, tickets were found to be significantly pricier than fans had initially anticipated.
Before the presale kicked off, MCD revealed that ticket ranges commenced at “€86.50”, excluding booking charges. However, the addition of the Ticketmaster service fee ultimately set the audience back by €176.75 for a standing ticket to witness the band. Meanwhile, numerous spectator seats in the stands were priced slightly over €200. This was merely the initial price range.
Such pricing patterns were also seen in the case of Taylor Swift and Coldplay concerts earlier this year, where certain tickets boasting exclusive features like access to a “pre-show gathering and fan exhibition package” were retailed at nearly €550. Others, that came packaged with merchandise were selling for in excess of €400. The general sale witnessed a price hike with one customer who proceeded to purchase the ticket being asked to pay over €400 for a standing ticket. This seemed to reflect a “dynamic pricing model” leading to a price surge for tickets in high demand.
Not long after the commencement of the sale, social media was abuzz with rumours of a sellout. However, Ticketmaster assured fans at 8:35 am that “the queue for Oasis is progressing, and there are tickets available for both dates. Kindly retain your position in line”. However, the remaining tickets were exorbitantly priced.
Yvonne Fahy reported her queuing ordeal, stating “We were the 33,000 and have just been admitted now. Only tickets above €400 remain.” Brendan McDonald voiced his frustrations regarding the process: “It’s nothing short of a disaster. Many acquaintances of mine faced issues trying to access the website. It took me about 2 minutes and discovered 330,000 people ahead of me. This is certainly not in the spirit of Oasis Rock n roll. Yearning for the good old days when we lined up outside HMV, it was truly fun.”
John Brophy mentioned his experience stating he “made it to the ticket purchasing stage. Only high priced premium tickets were left. Attempted to select but was confronted with a connection issue and was returned to the queue.” Joan Byrne’s daughter experienced a setback just as she was about to buy tickets, with the site crashing.
In stark contrast to the experience of many, Cillian Mac Bradaigh was among the fortunate few who successfully acquired tickets during the presale, which he said was a notably smooth process. However, the decision to unveil the tickets in Ireland first was met with a slew of criticism. George Thomson vented his frustration at the fact that a total of 160,000 tickets was rapidly consumed, primarily by bots. He lamented that while the UK would soon be receiving a hefty influx of 1.5 million tickets, the Irish allotment had been swiftly snapped up. He voiced his disappointment as someone who had patiently queued from early morning.
Laura Buckley recounted jumping into the queue at position 1,700, a first-time occurrence for her. She progressed as far as selecting her tickets before the process abruptly halted, expressing the sentiment “It’s the hope that kills you.”
As the ticket rush heated up, social media inevitably filled up with individuals hoping to sell tickets. Fans should be wary that a high-profile concert of this magnitude invariably attracts fraudulent activity, and many of the offered “tickets” may not exist, leading to a high likelihood of scams.
In response to an explosion of resale offers, Oasis’s website issued a stern warning, “We have observed attempts to sell tickets on the secondary market right from the beginning of the presale. Be advised that tickets can ONLY be resold via Ticketmaster and Twickets and must be at face value,” the notice stated. The post added, “Any tickets sold in violation of these terms and conditions will be invalidated by the event organisers.”
The text concluded with a commentary on how pop star Taylor Swift had triggered a shift towards sky-high ticket prices.