Why were the price of Oasis tickets so high?

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A screengrab from the Ticketmaster website detailing information about Oasis concert tickets for sale in Dublin. Photograph: PA Wire
A screengrab from the Ticketmaster website detailing information about Oasis concert tickets for sale in Dublin. Photograph: PA Wire

On Saturday morning, Irish Times consumer expert Conor Pope logged on to Ticketmaster, ready to take his own advice about navigating the sales platform to buy tickets for one of the Oasis gigs in Dublin next summer.

He found himself behind 138,692 people in the queue and hours later, when he was finally offered tickets, they were nearly four times what he had expected to pay.

Tickets had been advertised at €86.50 but they were no where to be seen and soon social media filled up with stories of people paying nearly €1,000 for two “in demand” standing tickets on the pitch in Croke Park.

Oasis fans in Ireland and the UK were quick to vent their frustration at the pricey tickets and the lack of transparency in the sales process.

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But who is to blame – Ticketmaster, MCD, the promoters, or Oasis? And can the competition watchdog do anything?

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison is an Irish Times journalist and cohost of In the News podcast