The highly anticipated joint summer stadium tour by pop-punk icons Busted and McFly has descended into ticketing chaos, leaving a legion of devoted fans frustrated and empty-handed. Mere minutes after tickets went on general sale, they appeared on secondary resale platforms at eye-watering prices, sparking fury and accusations of exploitation.
The 'McBusted' phenomenon, reuniting two of the noughties' biggest bands, promises an unforgettable night of nostalgia. This demand, however, created a feeding frenzy for ticket touts and resale sites. Fans reported being stuck in lengthy online queues on official vendor sites, only to find all tickets were ‘unavailable’ by the time they reached the front.
From £70 to £2,000: The Great Ticket Scandal
While the initial face value for tickets was set at a reasonable £70-£90, the reality for latecomers is starkly different. A quick search on notorious resale sites reveals tickets being hawked for astronomical sums. Some listings for prime spots at London's The O2 are demanding an incredible £2,000 per ticket, turning a night of fun into an unaffordable luxury for most.
This practice has ignited a firestorm of anger on social media. One devastated fan tweeted, “Absolutely gutted. Queued for ages and nothing. Now they're all on resale sites for hundreds. It's so unfair for real fans.” Another added, “This is why proper legislation is needed. It’s just greedy.”
What’s Being Done? The Fight Against Touts
The incident has renewed calls for stricter regulation of the secondary ticketing market. While some platforms claim to offer 'fan-to-fan' resales, they are often accused of being havens for professional touts who use bots to snap up huge quantities of tickets the moment they are released.
Concert promoters and artists frequently condemn the practice, but the battle is complex. For now, fans are advised to:
- Exercise patience: Official vendors sometimes release more tickets in batches after the initial sale.
- Avoid resale sites: Do not engage with touts; paying inflated prices only encourages the practice.
- Wait for official resales: Some ticketing companies, like Ticketmaster, have official fan-to-fan exchange platforms where tickets can be resold at face value.
As the excitement for the tour continues to build, the hope remains that true fans won't be priced out of witnessing this iconic musical partnership.
