Oasis fans hoping for Morning Glory left crying their hearts out as 800,000 chased tickets for reunion gigs
Ticketmaster and promoter MCD were last night under fire for using a “dynamic pricing” model to hike the €86.50 plus €10.50 service fee for standing tickets to €415.50
Oasis fans hoping for Morning Glory yesterday were left crying their hearts out as 800,000 chased tickets for the band’s reunion gigs at Croke Park.
The Irish dates were the first to go on sale – but a global scramble for 1.4 million tickets saw sites crash and prices soar.
Ticketmaster and promoter MCD were last night under fire for using a “dynamic pricing” model to hike the €86.50 plus €10.50 service fee for standing tickets to €415.50.
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MEP Regina Doherty called for a probe by Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Commission after some fans faced 400 per cent price increases.
She said: “When ticket prices were advertised earlier this week, standing tickets in Croke Park were €86.50 plus booking fees, but when many people eventually got through... they were faced with the exact same ticket at a price of €415.50.
“That’s not transparent advertising and certainly not fair to consumers.
“Every ticket for these gigs was always going to be “in-demand” so slapping an extra label and €300 on some standing tickets is just extortionate.”
Die-hard Oasis fans who had secured pre-sale tickets on Friday were doubly relieved as the online frenzy took hold.
But Belfast fan Scott McLean, 28, echoed the frustration and anger of others revealing the Ticketmaster queue “kicked me out completely”.
He logged into his account at 7:30am ahead of Irish sales opening at 8am – a full hour before sales for UK venues.
Scott was in a queue of 20,000 for 30 minutes before selecting four tickets for one of the August 2025 shows in Dublin.
It was at that point his browser began buffering for half an hour, prompting him to contact the Ticketmaster customer service account on X for advice.
He revealed: “I followed their advice, cleared my cookies and cache on my browser – and then it kicked me out completely.
“It just came up to that error screen after I followed their guidance. I had to rejoin the queue and I ended up about 700,000 places worse off after following their guidance.” He said he felt “frustration and anger”, adding: “It’s just tickets for a concert after all, but I wanted to go.”
Others were left scratching their heads at the prices, as one fan was quoted €6,119 for a Dublin hotel for one of the August dates. Millions of disappointed fans were left empty-handed, including the third Gallagher brother Paul.
He told his 64,000 Instagram followers: “I have no tickets, I have no pre-codes, I have no idea – good luck.”
Cyber experts said it was “highly likely” that computer bots were used to buy tickets en masse leaving true fans of the Gallagher brothers bereft.
Jake Moore, global cybersecurity adviser at Eset, said some groups have the right software and knowledge to manipulate ticket websites and use bots to “swoop in and purchase high numbers of tickets at once”.
He added: “Being the next series of concerts since the demand for Taylor Swift tickets, I would suggest there would be a huge possibility of bots being used to swoop in.”
The gigs mark the end of the 15-year feud between frontman Liam Gallagher, 51, and his 57-year-old guitarist brother Noel, who was at the London Stadium yesterday to watch his beloved Manchester City beat West Ham 3-1. The 2025 reunion tour will coincide with the 30th anniversary of (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
The Manchester band – tipped to have original member Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs on stage – will hit the road beginning in Cardiff and end in Dublin. Friends last night said Liam – who is currently sunning himself in the South of France with his family including mum Peggy – was “buzzing” at the reaction to the reunion.
Such has been the hype Oasis were forced to issue a statement shooting down any suggestion that they will play Glastonbury, Slane or any other venue other than those listed.
They added three extra dates in the UK – as fans here begged them to consider a third and fourth date at Croke Park. Sources have teased that they may play August 23 and 24.
Ticketmaster said it does not set prices. Regarding the on-demand standing tickets it said “the event organiser has priced these tickets according to their market value”.
Last night the Gallagher brothers reiterated their warning to ticket touts offering resale tickets for UK gigs for up to €14,000 – saying that their tickets will be cancelled by promoters.
Cris Miller, Viagogo's global managing director, defended his website’s practice of listing Oasis tickets for UK gigs for thousands of pounds, saying: “Resale is legal in the UK and fans are always protected by our guarantee.”
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