Clampdown on Manchester benefit gig touts
T outs attempting to profit from the benefit concert in Manchester on Sunday headlined by Ariana Grande will have their tickets cancelled, the event’ s official ticketing company said.
Ticketmaster said it is performing regular checks across social media and that it was taking a“zero-tolerance” approach to online touting of event tickets, which is raising funds for victims of the Manchester Arena attack.
Stars including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Take That and Miley Cyrus will join Grande at the One Love Manchester concert, with the £ 40 tickets snapped up in less than 20 minutes yesterday.
After wards, dozens of peo - ple on social media and Ebay offeredto sell ticket satan inflated price. Major secondary ticketing firms Seat wave, Get Me In, Viagogo and Stubhub had all pledged to not allow the reselling of tickets on their websites.
Ebay said it would remove any listings attempting to profit from the event, arranged in the wake of the terrorist attack which saw 22 people killed and dozens injured.
Ticketmaster said in a state - ment on Twitter: “We’re working hard to get tickets direct to fans. We are cancelling tickets of those who are reselling wherever possible.”
Earlier, they revealed all fans who attended Grande’s targeted gig at the Manchester Arena will be given free passes to the benefit concert, regardless of where they purchased their tickets.
All net ticket proceeds of the show will go directly to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, set up by Manchester City Council in partnership with the British Red Cross to support victims of the attack and their families.
Michael Dug her, chief executive of industry body UK Music, praised the efforts to clamp down on touting. He said: “It would be disgraceful to fleece fans using an occasion like this.”