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‘There must be a fairer way’ – Stars hit out at process to buy Oasis tickets

Oasis fans have reported being suspended from accessing ticket websites.

Charlotte McLaughlin
Saturday 31 August 2024 09:03 EDT
Dan Walker was one of the celebrities trying to obtain tickets (Mike Egerton/PA)
Dan Walker was one of the celebrities trying to obtain tickets (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

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Celebrities and politicians are among Oasis fans scrambling to buy tickets and reporting being frustrated at finding themselves stuck in the queue or being booted off sellers’ websites.

Zarah Sultana, the MP for Coventry South, 5 News presenter Dan Walker and Newsnight host Victoria Derbyshire all posted about trying to get tickets for Oasis’ reunion tour shows after they went on sale at 9am on Saturday.

Derbyshire wrote on X that she was in the online Ticketmaster queue, shortly after the sale began and said she was still there an hour later.

At about 11.23am, the 55-year-old BBC journalist, who occasionally hosts Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, appeared to question if anyone was getting through to purchases Oasis Live 25 passes.

She wrote: “Has anyone actually managed to get a ticket today yet?”

Former BBC Breakfast presenter Walker wrote: “There has got to be a fairer, simpler, more efficient way of selling tickets that isn’t so open to touts, scammers, resellers & bots #Oasis.

“In the queue, out of the queue, refresh / don’t refresh, wait in line, back of the line, accused of being a bot … timed out.”

Several users reported to the customer service accounts of Ticketmaster Ireland and Ticketmaster UK that they were kicked out of the sites after reaching the end of the queue.

Fans wrote on X about being suspended and told they were “bots”.

Staff at the ticket-selling website replied saying: “Please make sure you are only using one tab, clear your cookies, and ensure you aren’t using any VPN software on your device.”

It also shared a link with its guide on “how to improve your chances for getting popular tickets”.

Labour MP Ms Sultana shared screenshots from Ticketmaster’s website of her trying to get two passes for an Oasis show at London’s Wembley gig, before her session was “suspended” by the site.

She wrote alongside an exasperation emoji, saying she had a “three hour wait for Oasis tickets and @TicketmasterUK crashes.”

Ticketmaster said via a spokeswoman that the site had not crashed.

She also said: “The queue is moving along as fans buy tickets. As anticipated, millions of fans are accessing our site so have been placed in a queue.”

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