Ed Sheeran resellers defying singer’s ID rules

Tickets for Ed Sheeran’s sold out shows have appeared on resale sites for more than 10 times their face value, despite the artist’s efforts to avoid touts from profiting.

With the tickets for the tour going on sale Saturday morning, many fans were left disappointed that no tickets remained after only minutes of being on sale.

Later on Saturday, Sheeran added further dates to his tour due to the huge demand.

The singer, who headlined Glastonbury Festival last month, will begin his 2018 tour in Cork, Ireland, in May, before closing in Warsaw, Poland, in August.

Viagogo has tickets for the Wembley gigs listed for up to £528 (€597/$681). The face value cost of tickets is between £55 and £88.

Prior to the tickets going on sale, Sheeran and his team announced a strict stance against anyone using secondary ticketing websites for profit.

The singer’s website warned: “You are required to bring your tickets, booking confirmation and credit card, plus a form of ID or you may not be granted entry to the show.

“Your ticket is not valid if resold unless it’s through our official face-value resale partner Twickets.”

The announcement comes just months after Sheeran’s international booking agent, Jon Ollier, said secondary ticketing was a “huge issue” in the planning of the 2017 Divide world tour.

In April, Sheeran was one of several artists to back a new ticket-buying guide from FanFair Alliance that urges music fans not to use secondary ticket sites such as StubHub and Viagogo.

Image: Drew de F Fawkes