Starmer urged to bring in ticket-touting ban as resellers target Big Weekend
Summary
Keir Starmer and the Labour government have promised to ban ticket touting, which is when people resell event tickets at much higher prices. Music groups warn that without this law soon, fans could lose hundreds of millions of pounds to ticket resellers exploiting events like BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend.Key Facts
- Labour’s 2024 manifesto includes a promise to outlaw selling tickets for profit (ticket touting).
- Music industry groups and artists like Radiohead, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay support this ban.
- Ticket touts are reselling tickets to Radio 1’s Big Weekend on sites like Viagogo and StubHub at prices up to 1,000% above face value.
- Despite rules limiting local buyers to two tickets, touts listed up to 30 tickets in one posting.
- Over 500 tickets were resold at inflated prices for Big Weekend between March 12 and March 31.
- Many resold tickets were posted internationally, violating consumer protection rules.
- The government may delay including the ticket tout ban in the upcoming King’s Speech, causing concern among music groups and consumer advocates.
- Industry experts estimate fans have lost about £60 million due to ticket reselling since the policy was announced.
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