Industry News

Ed Sheeran cancels 10,000 tickets up for resale

Ed Sheeran has cancelled around 10,000 tickets that were being offered for hundreds of pounds on resale websites.

Sheeran’s team warned buyers ahead of the launch of sales for his 2018 tour earlier this month that action would be taken against those who did not purchase tickets for personal use.

However, tickets for his UK gigs were being resold within minutes of being bought, with many asking for up to 10 times the £49 to £88 face value.

The Daily Mirror newspaper reports that such tickets are no longer valid and are being put back on official sale.

Sheeran’s spokesman said: “Most ­profiteering companies heeded promoters’ warnings not to trade and resell tickets that would instantly be cancelled. This resulted in 90 per cent of tickets being delivered into fans’ hands at the face value.

“The process of analysing sales and cancelling tickets purchased for purposes for resale will continue until the tour takes place.”

Sheeran has long been an opponent of the secondary ticketing sector and inflated prices being charged to fans. He has signed up face-value site Twickets as the official resale partner of recent tours.

Google under fire over Viagogo’s Ed Sheeran sale

Meanwhile, Google has been accused of “aiding and abetting” ticket rip-offs by promoting the sale of invalid tickets for Sheeran’s 2018 tour.

The top result under a Google search for Ed Sheeran concert tickets is an advertisement from resale agent Viagogo. The tickets are invalid because their resale is prohibited on unauthorised sites.

Stuart Galbraith, chief executive of Kilimanjaro Live, one of Ed Sheeran’s tour promoters, told The Times newspaper that Viagogo is selling tickets in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 because they were invalid and the terms and conditions of the tickets were not made clear on the Viagogo site.

He said: “Google is aiding and abetting Viagogo duping people. It is massively frustrating.”

StubHub, Seatwave and GetMeIn! are not offering Sheeran tickets for resale because the terms announced by Sheeran’s team state they “immediately become invalid” if offered or sold on an unauthorised site.

Ed Sheeran, who headlined Glastonbury Festival last month, will begin his 2018 tour in Cork, Ireland, in May, before closing in Warsaw, Poland, in August. As well as Ireland and Poland, Sheeran will play two dates at Wembley Stadium, London, as well as Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. The tour will also take in Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

Image: Drew de F Fawkes