Oasis announce two new Wembley Stadium dates due to ‘phenomenal public demand’
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Oasis have announced two new Wembley Stadium dates due to “phenomenal public demand”, with tickets to be sold by an “invitation-only ballot”.
Applications for the ballot for new dates on September 27 and 28 will only be open to those who were unsuccessful in the initial Ticketmaster sale. No additional dates have yet been announced for Ireland.
Announcing the new dates, the band also addressed ticketing issues and said “it needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management”, and added they had “at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used”.
A statement from the band read: “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.”
A tweet explaining the ballot process for tickets for the new dates read: “Two extra Wembley Stadium shows have been added due to phenomenal demand.
“Tickets will be sold by a staggered, invitation-only ballot process.
“Applications to join the ballot will be opened first to the many UK fans who were unsuccessful in the initial on sale with Ticketmaster.”
It comes after many fans missed out on tickets as they battled website issues and being mislabelled as bots.
Fans were also left shocked by standard tickets more than doubling from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster, due to dynamic pricing for the tour.
The new dates mean the band will now play five concerts at the national stadium, as well as dates in Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin.
The concerts will be the band’s first since breaking up backstage at France’s Rock en Seine festival in 2009.
It comes after the European Commission announced it would be investigating dynamic pricing following the controversy.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) also received 450 complaints about Ticketmaster adverts for the Oasis gigs.
A spokesman for the UK’s regulator of advertising said the complainants argue the adverts made “misleading claims about availability and pricing”.
It is believed the ticket prices for the Oasis gigs were set by promoters including SJM Concerts, MCD and DF Concerts & Events.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday the Government will get a “grip” on the issue of surge pricing and that it is seeking consultation on the issue.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Labour MP Emma Foody asked Sir Keir if he agrees that urgent action is needed to protect fans, to which he replied: “Yes, I do. Firstly, it’s great that Oasis are back together.
“I think, from what I’ve determined, about half the country were probably queuing for tickets over the weekend but it is depressing to hear of price hikes.
“I’m committed to putting fans at the heart of music and ending extortionate price resales, and we’re starting a consultation to work out how best we can do this.”
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.
The PA news agency has contacted Ticketmaster for comment.