- Leading music artists, including Coldplay and Dua Lipa, alongside consumer groups and industry bodies, have issued a joint plea for the UK government to implement a long-standing pledge to cap ticket resale prices.
- The coalition asserts that a price cap is crucial to combat the “extortionate and pernicious” secondary ticketing market, where touts bulk-buy tickets and resell them at inflated prices, preventing genuine fans from attending events.
- A new investigation by Which? exposed the extent of the issue, revealing tickets for UK events like Oasis and All Points East being resold for thousands, with one All Points East ticket listed for £114,666 on Viagogo.
- The watchdog also found problems, including difficulty identifying sellers, speculative selling of tickets not yet owned and prolific overseas touts operating on platforms such as StubHub and Viagogo.
- Despite a previous government pledge to cap resale prices and a recent consultation, campaigners are urging immediate legislation, with a government spokeswoman stating that plans will be set out “shortly”.
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