It’s a shame that genuine fans are going to spend an arm and a leg to see U2 in the flesh.
U2 fans across Ireland were left disappointed on Friday morning when tickets to their four Dublin shows later this year sold out almost immediately after going on sale.
Inevitably, tickets began to appear on secondary ticketing websites such as Seatwave and Viagogo shortly afterwards for prices well in excess of face value, much to the chagrin of the many fans of the band who missed out.
At the time of writing (shortly before 11am on Friday morning) while no tickets were available for U2’s four dates in Dublin’s 3Arena on Seatwave, there were a small number available for each of the four dates on Viagogo, all ranging from upwards of €250 to as high as €438 for a single ticket.
Reports on social media, however, suggested that tickets were being sold on secondary websites for as high as €600 on Friday morning.
As of 11am on Friday, platinum and travel packages were available for all of U2’s 3Arena gigs on Tickemaster, although prices start at €625 and €925 (travel package for two people) respectively.
There was also a limited number of standard tickets available for U2’s concert in the SSE Arena in Belfast on Saturday, 27 October, but the cheapest ticket available was £185 (approximately €210).
Last year, Ticketmaster and Seatwave expressed opposition to a bill brought forward by Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan (a draft bill was drawn up by Noel Rock TD the previous summer) that would make it illegal to resell tickets to events in Ireland for a profit in excess of 10%.
A public consultation about the issue (which can be read here), which attracted submissions from 24 parties, came about after tickets to concerts in Ireland involving acts such as U2 and Ed Sheeran went on sale for sums well in excess of face value after they had originally sold out.
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