Ballot process ‘discriminatory’ say Oasis fans seeking accessible tickets
Sales ended on Saturday for the two dates of the invitation-only ballot.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Oasis fans needing accessible tickets to the band’s additional London shows have claimed the ballot process was “pure and utter discrimination”.
The Britpop band, which reformed with brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher last month, created an invite-only ballot for their extra 2025 shows on September 27 and 28 at Wembley Stadium, with tickets going on sale on Saturday.
Fans who were sent a ballot code were able to access the sale, with the Manchester band previously saying that people “signed in to (their) Ticketmaster UK account” during the original sale on August 31, but did not get a ticket, “may be eligible to take part”.
But some disabled fans have questioned how they could obtain tickets during Saturday’s sale process because they were advised to call a direct phone number for Wembley during last month’s general sale and had therefore not needed to use Ticketmaster.
Married couple Olivia Hilliard, 49, and Ian Harris, 55, from Ruislip, west London, said they had called Wembley on its accessibility phone line more than 1,000 times during the original sale in an attempt to purchase tickets but missed out.
They also tried to buy tickets through Wembley on Saturday for the additional September shows but were unsuccessful.
Mrs Hilliard, who has a spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis (MS) and cannot stand for long periods, said she was “at a loss” as to why they needed to provide Wembley with a ballot code to purchase accessible tickets.
“The ballot code shouldn’t be in place for the people who are disabled because we weren’t logged into Ticketmaster on August 31, because we were calling Wembley on the accessible line,” Mrs Hilliard, who works for a spinal cord injury charity, told the PA news agency.
“I’m at a loss as to why we had to have a ballot code because we weren’t entered into the ballot because we weren’t logged into Ticketmaster.
“That to me is where the problem is, and I’ve said to Wembley this is pure and utter discrimination against disabled people.”
Mrs Hilliard added: “They need to be fair and to treat us the same, that’s all any people who need accessible tickets ask for – to be treated the same as everybody else and to be given a fair chance at tickets.
“We were excited; we’re of that age, so to be able to go back and reminisce on the music of our youth, we were looking forward to it but it’s not to be.”
I've said to Wembley this is pure and utter discrimination against disabled people
Jack, a 23-year-old solicitor apprentice from Norwich, who did not wish to share his surname, said he tried to secure accessible tickets on August 31 during the general sale.
Jack, who has cerebral palsy, said he rang Wembley “over 1,200 times” but was later informed tickets had sold out.
During the sale of the additional London shows on Saturday, Jack said he contacted Ticketmaster but was directed to Wembley and when he phoned the stadium, he was told he needed a code to proceed, which he did not have.
“Me and other people wouldn’t have been able to get a ballot code or even entry into the ballot by just calling Wembley, because people may not have necessarily logged into Ticketmaster – and that’s the part I take issue with,” Jack told PA.
“It’s not the fact I didn’t get tickets, because lots of people aren’t going to get tickets, it’s the fact of how the ballot system was run.
“It’s unfair and I would argue it’s discriminatory against disabled people.
“It just makes me feel like they don’t understand disabled people.”
It's unfair and I would argue it's discriminatory against disabled people
Jack said he has been listening to the band since 2018, and had long said he wanted to see them perform if they reunited.
“It would be great to see them but this whole process has been disappointing,” he said.
“The communication from Ticketmaster and Wembley in trying to pass me from pillar to post has been disgusting.
“It’s not about being being unable to get tickets, it’s about being unable to access the sale – I haven’t had the opportunity to buy these tickets.”
Wembley Stadium said it was not involved in the ballot process and that fans who signed into Ticketmaster during the general sale and were able to provide a code were allocated accessible tickets when they called the stadium.
Fans without a code were advised to register their interest via the website and if any accessible tickets were remaining, the team would contact each person directly to accommodate them where possible.
Ticketmaster said all accessible tickets for the London shows were sold by Wembley and while they sold all other ticket types, they did not determine the ballot as this was organised directly by the artist’s team.
The band’s representatives have been contacted for comment.