People who were refused entry to the recent Glasgow Pride event have criticised an alternative refund offer of a VIP ticket to next year’s festival.
This year’s Pride took place on July 15 in the Scottish city’s Kelvingrove Park, with more than 12,000 people taking part. Some 600 people with pre-paid tickets were said to have been refused entry after being told that the event had reached its full capacity.
A petition calling for the resignation of Pride Glasgow chief executive Alastair Smith was subsequently launched and there has now been fresh backlash after those affected were offered a VIP ticket to the 2019 festival as an alternative to a refund.
According to the Daily Record newspaper, the email sent by organisers to those affected read: “As an alternative to a refund we would like to offer a weekend VIP pass to next year’s event. If you would like to continue with our refund process, please complete the short questionnaire below.”
Customers were asked to email their bank details, ticketing and booking numbers – a process that has been described by critics as not guaranteeing security.
In a Facebook post earlier in the week, Scottish comedian Scott Agnew, who co-hosted this year’s event, wrote: “The Glasgow Pride 2018 shambles rolls on. The response people looking for a refund are finally receiving by email includes more wriggling and squirming and shirking of responsibility.
“Offering VIP tickets for next year’s event – something which may not even take place – is nothing short of outrageous. That they have to answer questions and provide supporting evidence to get a refund is just shocking.
“And all this done via email – no secure forms to protect your bank details. From my understanding of current GDPR legislation this falls far short of required standards and anyone sending personal information including bank details should proceed with caution as this information could be at risk.”
Agnew has already said he would never co-host the event again following the ticketing scandal that has arose.
In response, Smith told the Record: “We wanted to offer more than just a refund, and many people have taken up our offer of VIP tickets for next year. Of course, we are more than happy to offer a refund to those who prefer it.”
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