Push for new tout laws as U2 fans asked for €942
THERE are calls for anti-touting legislation to be prioritised after tickets for U2’s Dublin shows this week went on sale online for hundreds of euro above price value.
They played the 3Arena last night and will also hit the venue tonight, before sold-out gigs on Friday and Saturday.
However, fans who are hoping to get their hands on tickets are being asked to pay elevated prices, with a number of resale sites flogging tickets for more than four times face value.
Seatwave, a resale site owned by Ticketmaster, is one of the platforms being used by fans, with tickets for U2’s gigs advertised on it for between €206 and €942.
Fine Gael TD Noel Rock, who has been pushing for anti-touting laws, called on the Government to commit to a date to introduce such legislation. ‘The exploitation of fans needs to stop now,’ Mr Rock said in statement filled with U2 references. ‘Sometimes legislation can’t make it on its own which is why I am lobbying Government to enact my touting proposals as soon as possible. This can’t wait for another day... We know the desire for change is there. Real fans are sick of paying through the nose for tickets to concerts. It will be the sweetest thing when this legislation finally passes.’
Over the last number of years, ticket touts have been hitting the pockets of fans ahead of gigs for popular acts such as Ed Sheeran.
When Westlife’s first Croke Park gig on July 5 sold out in just seven minutes, fans were forced to turn to resale sites, where prices had been inflated up to €478.80, compared to their €59.50 face value.
In July, Cabinet approved the proposed legislation to ban the above-face-value resale of tickets for sporting and entertainment events in designated venues with a capacity of 1,000 or over. Ticketmaster recently announced the closure of its resale site Seatwave and Get Me In, to be replaced with a new ticket exchange system which will see tickets resold at or under the original price. Seatwave and Get Me In, however, remain in operation, reselling tickets for concerts announced before August 8.