Scalpers thwart Ed Sheeran’s noble gesture for Australian fans

James Ried
May 17, 2017, updated May 17, 2017

Ed Sheeran is the latest superstar to reveal the person behind the hits. Photo: Getty

Ticket-scalpers have cruelled Ed Sheeran’s efforts to provide Australian fans with affordable tickets to his 2018 tour by snapping up pre-sale tickets and posting them on resale sites at ridiculously inflated prices.

Pre-sale tickets for Sheeran’s March shows went on sale on Tuesday, but within hours, tickets were found on resale website Viagogo for more than $335 – and up to $1340 for two.

It comes days after the British chart-topper announced a cap on Australian ticket prices at $165.

Fans were also offered cheaper pricing options at $70, and were promised they would not appear on resale website Ticketmaster Resale.

Pre-sale tickets for the Shape Of You singer’s March 10 performance at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium went on sale at 2pm on Tuesday – with B-Reserve tickets listed on Viagogo at huge mark-ups for $1300 later that afternoon.

And Melbourne fans had it easy – tickets for Sheeran’s March 20 show at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium were marked up beyond $1500 a ticket.

While many diehard fans were jibbed out of a ticket due to scalpers, others found themselves stuck in online queues after Ticketek and Ticketmaster sites crashed.

been on the @edsheeran presale since before it opened, still "sit tight" mate I'm sitting tight and about to punch ticketmaster #edsheeran

— Adelaid (@Adelaid_H) May 16, 2017

The year is 2178.

People are still waiting to buy pre-sale Ed Sheeran tickets.

— Matt Back (@MattNotFront) May 16, 2017

On Tuesday, Sheeran’s tour promoter, Frontier Touring, issued a statement on its Facebook page addressing customers’ frustration and urging them to wait for general sale.

“Hundreds of thousands of you have stretched major ticketing systems to the maximum, which is impressive, but we appreciate for you, is pretty bloody annoying,” the statement read.

“Please remember, though, that we’re only in pre-sale. More tickets will be available in all ticket categories, for all shows, in the sale to the general public next Tuesday.”

Sheeran is vehemently opposed to ticket scalping and has urged his fans not to purchase tickets for inflated prices.

“Ed’s obsessed about stopping scalping; his manager went to the House of Commons [in Britain] about it,” Sheeran’s promoter Michael Gudinski told the Herald Sun last week.

“The prices [for Sheeran’s tour] are very civilised and that’s come from Ed himself. He doesn’t do any VIP packages whatsoever. He hates the idea of charging people to meet him.”

The red-headed singer will add more shows to his March 2018 tour when tickets go on sale to the general public next Tuesday.

The New Daily has contacted Ticketmaster and Ticketek for comment.