Arthur's Day ticket tout warning

CONCERT-GOERS hoping to attend September’s Arthur’s Day events have been warned against buying tickets from unauthorised sources…

CONCERT-GOERS hoping to attend September’s Arthur’s Day events have been warned against buying tickets from unauthorised sources, after tickets appeared for sale on websites at inflated prices.

Ticketmaster could cancel tickets for violating terms and conditions, leaving unwitting fans who buy them with worthless paper.

Artists such as Snow Patrol, Brandon Flowers, Paolo Nutini and KT Tunstall are scheduled to play in Dublin, Galway and Cork on September 23rd as part of Guinness’s Arthur’s Day celebrations, with others artists to perform at pub venues. Proceeds from the event go to benefit the Arthur Guinness Fund, which supports social entrepreneurs.

Tickets for the events, priced at €10 and €5, were snapped up when they went on sale more than a week ago, but some have found their way into the hands of unauthorised sellers who are offering them for more than 10 times face value on sites such as eBay.

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Guinness marketing manager John Burns said the company was “working with Ticketmaster to investigate instances where ticket purchasers have placed tickets on eBay for resale and are endeavouring to cancel these customers’ tickets where possible as they are in violation of Ticketmaster’s purchase policy.

“Ticketmaster reserves the right to cancel any tickets advertised or published in any manner by unauthorised agents with the intent to resell for profit or commercial gain,” he said.

Two tickets for Flowers’s solo show in the Academy in Dublin were on sale for €249 yesterday. The tickets are listed with a face value of €10 each. A pair of tickets to see Snow Patrol in St James’s Gate were listed for €299.

The Arthur’s Day event was established last year to mark the 250th anniversary to celebrate company founder Arthur Guinness’s decision to sign a 9,000-year lease on a brewery at St James’s Gate in Dublin in 1759.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist