Ticketmaster will be cancelling around 50,000 tickets to Oasis’s reunion concerts in the UK that were sold on resale websites.
Promoters Live Nation and SJM confirmed that these cancelled tickets will be made available for sale through the official seller, Ticketmaster, at face value, reported the BBC.
The band, led by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, announced their reunion in August after 15 years. The Britpop giants are reuniting in 2025 for the first time since 2009 for a series of sold out shows in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin.
Shortly after the first set of tickets went on sale, they were seen listed on resale sites such as Viagogo at prices up to £6,000.
The band issued a warning to fans to avoid unauthorised resale sites with a statement on social media: “We have noticed people attempting to sell tickets on the secondary market since the start of the pre-sale.
“Please note, tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via @Ticketmaster and @Twickets. Tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the promoters.”
The face value of the tickets was between £74.25 to £506.25 for the pre-show “party package”.
There were 1.4 million tickets that went on sale, but over 10 million fans from 158 countries were in the queue for tickets. Rules for the ticket sales state that fans were only allowed to buy tickets via Ticketmaster or resale partner, Twickets, at face value.
In a statement to the BBC, a Live Nation spokesperson said: “These terms and conditions were successfully put in place to take action against secondary ticketing companies reselling tickets for huge profit. Only four percent of tickets have ended up on resale sites. Some major tours can see up to 20 percent of tickets appearing via the major unauthorised secondary platforms.
“All parties involved with the tour continue to urge fans not to purchase tickets from unauthorised websites as some of these may be fraudulent and others subject to cancellation.”
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Any fans who believe they have had their tickets cancelled in error will have the option to speak to a relevant tickets agent for resolution.
Viagogo has previously defended its reselling practices as legal, and claimed it is a way to deal with fans being frustrated by having website issues trying to buy tickets for gigs.
Cris Miller, Viagogo global managing director, previously said: “We know fans are frustrated with the process and we know there is a better way. We continue to support industry collaboration to ensure the entire ticketing market works for fans and the live entertainment industry.
“Resale is legal in the UK and fans are always protected by our guarantee that they will receive their tickets in time for the event or their money back.”
The sale caused a lot of controversy due to Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing scheme, which pushes fees up in line with demand. It also led to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announcing an examination into the dynamic pricing to scrutinise whether the sale might have breached consumer protection law.