Tom Ambrose 

Oasis add two more Wembley dates with ‘staggered invitation-only ballot’

Bids to join ballot for 27 and 28 September gigs will go first to fans unsuccessful in initial Ticketmaster sales window
  
  

A black and white mural of the Gallagher brother
Oasis said they did not know dynamic pricing would be used in the initial sales strategy. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Oasis have announced two additional shows at Wembley and promised a “staggered invitation-only ballot”, days after many fans were left angry and disappointed after waiting for hours without being able to buy tickets for the band’s other gigs.

Extra dates at the London stadium were announced “due to phenomenal demand” after Oasis were heavily criticised over the use of dynamic pricing for their first wave of tickets.

In a post on X, Oasis said: “Two extra Wembley Stadium shows have been added due to phenomenal demand. Tickets will be sold by a staggered, invitation-only ballot process.”

The gigs will take place on 27 and 28 September and applications to join the ballot will be available first for those fans who were unsuccessful in the initial sales window with Ticketmaster.

As well as announcing the new dates, Oasis said they had not known that dynamic pricing would be used in the previous sale.

A statement read: “Inevitably interest in this tour is so overwhelming that it’s impossible to schedule enough shows to fulfil public demand. But this ticket sale strategy will make the process far smoother for fans by reducing the stress and time it takes to obtain one of the hottest tickets of our time.

“As for the well-reported complaints many buyers had over the operation of Ticketmaster’s dynamic ticketing: it needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used.

“While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations.

“All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”

Dynamic pricing, which is common in the US but relatively unusual in the UK and Ireland, meant some fans queued all day only to find that the cost of £135 standing tickets had risen to £355 when the time came to confirm their purchase.

The government announced on Sunday night it would include dynamic pricing in its review of ticketing, which aims to ban “rip-off” resale sites and ticket touting.

The European Commission announced it would be investigating dynamic pricing after the controversy, while the Advertising Standards Authority also received 450 complaints about Ticketmaster adverts for the Oasis gigs. A spokesperson for the UK’s regulator of advertising said the complainants argued the adverts made “misleading claims about availability and pricing”.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it is “urgently reviewing” the ticketing market and that it is looking forward to working with the government on the issue.

• This article was amended on 13 September 2024 to replace the main image.

 

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