Organisers want Williams gig tickets taken off eBay
Robbie Williams’ concert organisers have urged eBay to remove ticket listings for his show next month.
Tickets for the ‘Bodies’ star’s long-awaited comeback concert in London on October 20 - held as part of the BBC Electric Proms series - sold out within minutes yesterday, and despite a string of anti-touting measures in place, tickets were listed online at more than 20 times their original price within hours.
Two tickets which cost a total of £50 face value were being auctioned at £1,400.
A BBC Electric Proms spokesperson told BANG Showbiz: "There are a number of measures already in place to deter ticket touting at the BBC Electric Proms.
The Robbie Williams show will be wristbanded only, and no tickets will be sent out in advance of the performance. Ticket purchasers will need to collect their wristband at the venue box office but must bring the credit card they used to pay for the tickets to prove that you are the original purchaser.
“Once this has been proved, the wristband will be attached to the ticket purchaser’s wrist at the box office on the day of the performance and removal of it will result in it being unusable.
“This system was made clear to purchasers at point of purchase, however, we have also contacted eBay to ensure they are aware of these security procedures and to remind them that these tickets should not be re-sold.
There are also requests on the BBC Electric Proms website urging people not to buy from unauthorised sources as these tickets will not be honoured.”
Despite the warnings, auction site eBay insists it will continue to allow the tickets to be sold at fans’ own risk.
An eBay spokesperson said: “The promise of Robbie Williams’ first UK performance in over three years has unsurprisingly led to a stampede of fans looking to buy tickets to his ‘sold-out’ gig on secondary ticket sites, including eBay.
“While we believe that people should have the right to resell legitimate tickets to concerts we strongly encourage our sellers to clearly notify buyers of any restrictions that may be in place. We would also recommend buyers pay for their tickets with PayPal so that they are covered for the full amount of their purchase on the rare occasion anything goes wrong.”
A message on Robbie’s official website has warned fans not to buy tickets from third-party sellers or risk being turned away from the venue.
