News February 19, 2018

Outrage as Celine Dion NZ sell-out, scalpers move in for kill

Furious Celine Dion fans took to social media to complain about Ticketmaster Resale service.

Tickets to the singer’s two shows at Auckland’s 12,000 seat Spark Arena on August 11 and 12 went on sale at midday yesterday.

Within minutes they had gone – and surfaced on Ticketmaster’s resale with inflated prices.

Those priced between NZ$119 and $399 were going for between $800 and $1150.

One unlucky fan griped on Facebook: “Why is it that we were on the site dead on midday and still couldn’t get tickets and also through presale?

“Very annoying as there seems to be a lot available now through resale at 900 bucks each!”

Others took their frustrations out on Ticketmaster, insisting “You should make those tickets invalid as when selling at twice the price they could be bought for must be scalpers at work.

“If genuinely a resale then they should only be able to be listed at cost.”

Ticketmaster responded: “This is a highly popular event with thousands of people trying to secure multiple tickets” and that people should “keep trying”.

It also emphasised, “While part of the same family, Resale operate independently to Ticketmaster.”

It has also triggered off debate that New Zealand needs to bring in laws similar to those in some Australian states that resales should not be 10% over the original price.

At the moment there is no provision for this, although calls were made by the live industry when Adele toured NZ to a similar scenario.

The Major Events Management Act 2007 is more focussed on sporting events, and on people not making money out of events through ambush marketing.

In Australia, a second Brisbane show has been added, following second shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

It means that the Australian and New Zealand tour, through Frontier Touring and Concerts West/AEG Presents, is now double the original announcement.

The current dates are:

Friday July 27 – Qudos Bank Arena | Sydney

Saturday July 28 – Qudos Bank Arena | Sydney

Monday July 30 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane

Tuesday July 31 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane

Saturday August 4 – Perth Arena | Perth

Tuesday August 7 – Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne

Wednesday August 8 – Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne