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02 Sep, 2024

Tickets for next year’s Oasis reunion tour sold out by Saturday evening though fans eager to see the band play live for the first time in 16 years complained of technical issues and long online waits that often ended in disappointment.

Fans trying to access the three websites selling the tickets — Ticketmaster, See Tickets and Gigsandtours — reported issues including error messages and being kicked off before they could purchase tickets.

More than a million tickets for the band’s gigs were expected to sell out within minutes. Instead, the band announced all the tickets in Britain had been sold 10 hours later after many fans had spent the day in online queues.

Ticketmaster said its website had not crashed and the queue was moving along as fans bought tickets. Gigsandtours thanked people for their patience and said there had been “extremely high demand”.

At the same time, some tickets were relisted on resale sites such as Viagogo for as much as 8,000 pounds ($10,500).

The tour has also ignited a backlash over “dynamic pricing” after fans saw ticket prices soar from £135 to over £350 on Ticketmaster as demand surged. In response, UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced a government review to address “rip-off resales” and ensure ticket prices are fair, reported the BBC.

The dynamic pricing model, which adjusts prices based on demand, was criticised by fans and even by politicians like Lucy Powell, who paid more than double the original price for a ticket. Ticketmaster defended itself, stating that pricing is set by the event organiser. Meanwhile, the government aims to scrutinise these practices and improve transparency in ticket sales.

“There has to be a fairer, simpler, more efficient way of selling tickets,” said the British TV presenter Dan Walker on X. “In the queue, out of the queue, refresh/don’t refresh, wait in line, back of the line.”

Oasis announced 17 shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the first due in Cardiff in July 2025, followed by nights in Manchester — where the band was formed in 1991 — London, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The group, whose debut album Definitely Maybe was released 30 years ago, split in 2009 when lead guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher said he could no longer work with his younger brother, Liam, the band’s main singer.

At its peak in the 1990s, Oasis exemplified the soaring appeal of Britpop, with hits like ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Live Forever’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’. But Noel and Liam were often in conflict and their strained relationship finally snapped in 2009 as they prepared to play a Paris gig.

Since their split, both brothers have continued their musical careers, but always against the backdrop of calls from fans for the band to reunite.

The gigs are expected to provide a multi-million-pound boost for Britain and Ireland’s hospitality sectors.

Comments

Laila Sep 02, 2024 12:00pm
Its interesting how we never get these international concerts in Pakistan but they do perform in the Turkey, parts of ME (even Palestine before/inbetween the wars) and other muslim countries in Asia. Thats why our music exposure and palette is limited to local artists. Shame, because we are missing out. I see big foreign artists working and collaborating globally. Just not in Pakistan. Like if I want to see international artists I have to go to another country. Great.
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Taj Ahmad Sep 02, 2024 03:53pm
Simply great and well performed show throughout the world.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Sep 02, 2024 04:27pm
Hopefully, the two brothers Noel and Liam will eventually know, realize, understand and comprehend the true meanings of the centuries old axiom, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall."
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NYS Sep 03, 2024 12:26am
They can't perform in Pakistan due to security concerns In other words, if the atmosphere is favourable then tickets prices were out of the reach
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Laila Sep 03, 2024 10:38pm
@NYS Nobody can perform on Pakistan. Security reasons aside the moral police would waste no time finding flaws. We even ban our own movies like Zindagi Tamasha by Sarmad Khoosat even though ita about a real issue with the abuse of our blasphemy laws. A woman can't even wear a shirt with Arabic calligraphy on it because then she will be mob lynched. Majority of people listen to local and desi music. We are never going to get international stars like Oasis, Metallica, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Adele, Eminem etc to Pakistan. There is no market for it. Our country is hampered in part by its lack of exchange and exposure to the outside world including the Muslim world. That's why majority are close minded and think the (Muslim) world is homogenous.
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