Dua Lipa and Coldplay call on government to keep its promise on ticket resales
Some of the biggest names in music – including Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead – have urged the government to honour a pledge to cap ticket resale prices and shutout touts.
They have joined artists including The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey and this year’s Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender to sign a statement calling for a cap to “restore faith in the ticketing system” and “help democratise public access to the arts”.
Other signatories include the watchdog Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association and organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers, and ticket retailers.
In the statement, the coalition says new protections are needed to “help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre, and sports they love”.
Labour had promised in its manifesto to put a stop to concert-goers being scammed or priced out of events by touts using bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites.
In government, the party again made that promise – but more than a year after it vowed action, and seven months since its consultation on the issue closed, there has been no clear indication of when new laws will be introduced.
Restore faith in the ticketing system, or Something Just Like This. Pic: AP
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This year’s Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender has joined the coalition. Pic: PA
The campaign comes as a new investigation from Which? found prolific sellers in locations including Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain, and the US hoovering up tickets for popular events in the UK before relisting them at vastly inflated prices on StubHub and Viagogo.
How much?!
Which? found Oasis tickets for Wembley shows listed for £3,498.85 on StubHub and £4,442 on Viagogo.
A seat for the Minnesota Vikings vs Cleveland Browns NFL clash at Tottenham Hotspur was listed for £3,568.39 on StubHub, while a Coldplay ticket, also for Wembley, was £814.52 on StubHub.
And a ticket for the All Points East festival in London’s Victoria Park, headlined by Raye, for £114,666 on Viagogo.
The watchdog found it was often difficult for buyers to establish the seller’s identity or to contact them – despite the Competition and Markets Authority securing a court order in 2018 requiring Viagogo to outline the identity of traders.
This year’s Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender has joined the coalition. Pic: PA
And there’s more…
Which? also found evidence of speculative selling – when tickets are listed on secondary sites even though the seller has not bought them yet.
Tickets for a Busted vs McFly show in Glasgow, which were available through Ticketmaster – the original seller – were simultaneously being listed on StubHub and Viagogo at double the price.
Government to set out plans ‘shortly’
Which? consumer law expert Lisa Webb urged Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer to commit to legislation.
A government spokeswoman said it is “fully committed to clamping down on touts,” had listened to comments in response to the consultation earlier this year, and would set out its plans “shortly”.
British drama Adolescence has seen its lead stars all nominated for Golden Globe awards.
The drama, starring Stephen Graham, depicts the aftermath of the stabbing of a teenage girl, as a 13-year-old boy from her school is arrested for her murder. It was one of the most talked-about shows of the year.
Young Owen Cooper is up for best supporting actor. Pic:Netflix
Graham, along with Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty are all up for gongs. It follows a host of wins at the Emmys in September.
Receiving five nominations in total, the Netflix limited series was only beaten by HBO’s White Lotus, which got six nods, coming top in the TV category.
Cynthia Erivo was nominated for her role in the Wicked sequel, Wicked For Good, while British stars Gary Oldman, Helen Mirren and Aimee Lou Wood also got recognition for their roles in Slow Horses, Mobland and The White Lotus, respectively.
Mirren will also be awarded one of the Globe’s two lifetime achievement awards, the Cecil B DeMille Award, announced a few days before the ceremony in the New Year.
Emily Blunt picked up a surprise nomination for her role in The Smashing Machine, opposite Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – who also got a nod for the sports biopic.
Tessa Thompson was recognised for her role in Hedda, a modern re-telling of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play.
Irish stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley were both nominated for Hamnet, the adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s book about William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes. The movie isn’t out in the UK until January.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good
Ryan Coogler (L) and Michael B Jordan at the Sinners premiere. Pic: AP
Films, TV – and podcasts
Unlike other awards, the Globes cover both TV and film and are split by genre, falling into either the drama or comedy and musical category – meaning a wealth of nominees are in the running.
This year, there are 28 categories.
In the film category, One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, led the nominations with nine, followed by Norwegian comedy-drama Sentimental Value with eight, and vampire horror Sinners with seven.
Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from One Battle After Another.
Pic: Warner Bros/AP
KPop Demon Hunters continued its world domination with three nominations – best animated film, cinematic and box office achievement and original song – making an Oscar nod further down the line look more and more likely.
New to this year’s nominations is a category for podcasts. Selected from a long list of the 25 most-listened to shows, Good Hang With Amy Poehler, Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard and Call Her Daddy were among the casts that made the cut.
Sarah Jessica Parker will be honoured with the Carol Burnett Award.
Now in comeback mode, the Globes had previously faced criticism over a lack of diversity in the organisation, which led to the event being held behind closed doors in 2022.
The 83rd Golden Globes ceremony will take place in LA on 11 January, and will be hosted by US comedian Nikki Glaser for the second year running.
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