Akhilesh Yadav Expresses Concern As ‘Illegal Sales’ Of Coldplay Concert Leave Hundreds Of Fans Disappointment – News18

Amid ticket chaos of British rock band Coldplay’s ‘Music Of The Spheres World’ Mumbai concert, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday raised his concern over the reselling of the tickets at much exorbitant prices.

“The rush that has been created in the country for advance booking of a musical concert of international repute is a matter of concern. As soon as the booking opens, all the tickets get booked within a short time and then the news of those tickets being sold in black for lakhs, at 20-50 times the price, is a challenge at the level of governance and administration,” he said in a post on X.

Yadav further urged the government to take action over illegal sales of tickets and fake ticket racket. He said that in such processes, the real money is earned by middlemen, due to which the rights of the artists are violated.

Read More: Coldplay Concert In Ahmedabad After Mumbai? Rumours Leave Indian Fans Excited; Hotel Prices Soar

“Is there no such thing as a government in the country that can stop such illegal sales and fake ticket racket? It is true that artists should get the right remuneration for their art but in such an environment, the real money is earned by middlemen, due to which on one hand the rights of the artists are violated and on the other hand the tax that the government gets is also lost,” he added.

The SP leader further emphasised that everyone should have equal rights to entertainment.

“The truth is that everyone should have equal rights to entertainment. If art is limited to the purchasing power of a few people, then it becomes just a business. It is not possible for a rich person to always be an expert, connoisseur or a true enjoyer of art. In such a situation, artists do not get true respect nor does their art get proper appreciation. This is the human-social aspect of art that it should be accessible to all,” he added.

Ticketing Frenzy For Coldplay

The ticketing frenzy for Coldplay’s upcoming Mumbai concerts saw unprecedented demand from Indian fans, with over 1.3 crore people logging in to secure one of the 1.5 lakh available tickets. Despite BookMyShow’s efforts to manage the overwhelming traffic, many fans were left disappointed and empty-handed as tickets disappeared almost immediately.

However, unofficial ticketing platforms listed the concert tickets as high as Rs 7 lakh. Similarly, tickets that were originally costing Rs 4,000 are being resold for Rs 7,78,952 per ticket by a user. Another user was reselling tickets originally costing Rs 12,500 for Rs 1.21 lakh on Viagogo’s Coldplay tickets page. The lounge tickets, originally priced at Rs 35,000, were being resold for Rs 1.01 lakh.

Read More: Coldplay India: Tickets Worth Rs 4000 Are Being Resold For Rs 7.78 Lakhs, BookMyShow Reacts

BookMyShow Issues Warning

BookMyShow had addressed the resale of the Coldplay tickets in India and reminded users that scalping is illegal in India. “It has come to our attention that unauthorised platforms are listing tickets for Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India, both before and after the official sale. These tickets are invalid,” the post read.

“Ticket scalping is illegal in India and punishable by law. Please don’t fall prey to this because you will be buying fake tickets. Avoid scams! BookMyShow is the only official platform for ticket sales,” they added.

Coldplay will be performing in Mumbai on January 18, January 19 and January 21, 2025.