Tout of order
Call for new law as picnic tickets double in price
A TD has demanded a change in the law after tickets for sold-out Electric Picnic appeared online at double their original price. Sinn Fein’s Maurice Quinlivan described the behaviour as “totally unfair and unacceptable”. All tickets to the festival were snapped up in just two hours after they went on sale on Thursday morning – and before any of the acts were announced. Fans who missed out on the coveted passes soon saw them being flogged online for more than €500. The original cost was €246.10. Mr Quinlivan said: “This is disgraceful behaviour that is preventing genuine concert goers and sporting enthusiasts the opportunity to attend events, and this needs to be tackled. The practice of consumers getting ripped off by ticket touts has continued long enough and this case highlights the need for regulation in this area to protect Irish consumers.” The proposed Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill would prevent people from buying multiple tickets for big profits. Purchasers could still sell them on but they would only be allowed to list them for a maximum of 10% more than face value. A spokesman for Electric Picnic organisers, Festival Republic, said: “We absolutely welcome any regulation of it. Ultimately when a person owns a ticket they own a ticket and they are entitled to do with it what they choose. “We don’t encourage it . We don’t want it to happen. But while it’s legal it does happen.” This year’s event is being held from September 1 to 3 at Stradbally Hall, Co Laois, and will be headlined by Duran Duran, A Tribe Called Quest and The XX.