Tens of thousands of Oasis fans face having their tickets cancelled

PA

Thousands of tickets sold on resale websites will be cancelled by Oasis ahead of their upcoming reunion tour.

The band’s promoter, Live Nation and SJM, has told BBC File on 4 that it will cancel more than 50,000 tickets for the band's UK dates listed on secondary platforms.

It said that all invalidated tickets will be made available again through the official seller, Ticketmaster, at face value.

There were 1.4 million tickets on sale when Oasis announced their UK tour in August, but more than 10 million fans from 158 countries joined the queue.

Within hours, thousands of tickets appeared on resale sites at inflated prices.

When tickets for the 2025 Oasis reunion tour went on sale in August, fans were told they could only purchase tickets at face value through Ticketmaster or resale partner, Twickets.

The band's promoters said this was done in order to combat price inflation and prevent ticket touting.

Live Nation and SJM told the BBC that four percent of tickets ended up on resale sites. That's close to 50,000.

It said the process of cancelling tickets, believed to have broken the terms and conditions put in place, will happen soon.

It added that any fans who believe they have had their tickets cancelled in error will be able to speak to the relevant ticket agent to have their case investigated.

A company spokesperson said: “These terms and conditions were successfully put in place to take action against secondary ticketing companies reselling tickets for huge profit. Only four percent of tickets have ended up on resale sites. Some major tours can see up to 20 percent of tickets appearing via the major unauthorised secondary platforms.

"All parties involved with the tour continue to urge fans not to purchase tickets from unauthorised websites as some of these may be fraudulent and others subject to cancellation.”

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

BBC File on 4 investigates the online ticketing market and discovers how touts are using increasingly sophisticated methods to get tickets which they sell-on for huge profits. Gig Economy: The Ticketing Business

Available on BBC Sounds and on BBC Radio 4 from Tuesday 29 October at 06:00.

Despite the warning from Oasis' promoters, leading secondary ticket company Viagogo says that it will continue to sell tickets for the tour.

Matt Drew, who oversees business development for Viagogo, told File on 4: “Two percent of Oasis tickets are on Viagogo and Stubhub.

"We will continue to sell them in the way the regulator says we can. We are serving a clear consumer need, we will continue doing it on that basis.”

The resale of tickets in the UK is legal. All events listed on the Viagogo website must inform buyers if the event prohibits the resale of tickets.

File on 4 has seen examples of ticket sellers from all over the world using secondary sites, including a trader in Hawaii selling 27 Oasis tickets at £793 each, another in Brazil offering up to 10 tickets for every gig on the tour; as well as sellers in Dubai, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Ukraine.

One ticket on Viagogo is on offer at £11,000; and other on StubHub is listed for £119,000.

Ticketmaster said that on the day of the Oasis sale, it blocked 250 million suspicious actions.

Live Nation and SJM said it will continue to monitor secondary sites and that results will be passed to law enforcement where appropriate.

The tour will be the first time the Gallagher brothers have performed together since 2009.

Beginning in Cardiff on 4 July 2025, the pair will also play further dates in Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The band will also perform in countries including the US, Japan and Mexico.

Last month, Oasis announced they will ditch dynamic pricing for the American leg of their reunion tour, after it caused "an unacceptable experience" for UK fans.

The system raises the price of concert tickets at times of high demand. When Oasis' UK dates went on sale, some fans were charged more than £350 for tickets with an initial face value of £150.

The band faced significant backlash, and the UK's competition regulator launched an investigation into whether Ticketmaster breached consumer protection law.

In a statement announcing dates in the US, Canada and Mexico, the group's managers said they wanted to "avoid a repeat of the issues" faced by fans in the UK and Ireland.