SHAME OF THE 10,000 BOMB CONCERT TICKET LEECHES
Fury at ‘unscrupulous’ fans who claimed free entry to Manchester benefit gig
MORE than 10,000 people have lied about being at the Ariana Grande gig to claim free tickets for Sunday’s benefit concert.
And many tried to flog them on eBay. Former Manchester MP Lucy Powell said: “It’s disgusting.”
THE sister of a young girl left traumatised by the Manchester bombing has slammed those trying to cash in on the massacre.
Abbie Sisson had bought tickets from a secondary seller on the Twickets website, who could not attend the tragic Ariana Grande concert where 22 people were murdered.
But Abbie, 25, was disgusted to find the original buyer had registered himself for the free entry to the One Love Manchester, denying her and 10-year-old sister Poppie’s chance of attending the benefit gig on Sunday – that will now feature Robbie Williams.
The 14,200 fans at the first concert two week ago are entitled to free tickets. But it has been revealed that at least 25,000 people applied for these.
Touts were later on eBay trying to flog them. The site said it would immediately remove the tickets. Abbie, of Ripley, Derbys, said of her experience: “We had to live through the trauma of what happened that night, and this guy has flippantly given the tickets to friends. He has no remorse and doesn’t seem to care about what we’ve been through.
“We’re talking about a 10-year-old girl who is traumatised and I’m trying to help us deal with it by going to that gig and showing Poppie that not every concert ends this way. How could he be so heartless to deny us tickets?”
Selling site Ticketmaster has since allocated the sisters entry to the show.
Former Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell branded those trying to profit from the misery “reprehensible”. She added: “It’s disgusting if touts are trying to make money off this concert.” Ticketmaster boss Andrew Parsons said of the scam: “We have set aside tickets for the 14,200 people who were at the Ariana Grande concert to attend One Love Manchester for free.
“More than 25,000 people applied. Sadly, over 10,000 unscrupulous applications have been made. We are doing everything we can to ensure tickets go to the fans and not the opportunists or touts.” The site has spent days trying to weed out the false claimants and extended the deadline to apply three times. But many fans bought tickets from secondary sites and, as with Abbie, the original buyers have applied for the free ones. Secondary ticketing sites Seatwave, Get Me In, Viagogo and Stubhub all pledged to not allow reselling.
Paid-for tickets for the One Love concert sold out in minutes yesterday.
Little Mix and Williams last night became the latest to announce they would perform at the Old Trafford cricket ground gig.
US star Grande will lead the line-up, which also includes Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay and Take That.
Police have revealed 600 stewards will be on duty at the event in the wake of maniac Salman Abedi’s suicide bomb attack at the original Arena gig and security outside will be boosted.