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After Oasis tour furore, UK PM vows to tackle issue of ticket prices

Tickets more than doubled in price because of ‘dynamic pricing’. PM Keir Starmer said adjustments to the law may be needed

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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: EPA / Bloomberg
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the government will get a “grip” on the issue of surge pricing after hundreds of fans complained about inflated prices for Oasis reunion tour tickets.
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Some fans were left shocked by standard tickets more than doubling from £148 (US$194) to £355 (US$466) on Ticketmaster because of demand, and the culture secretary has pledged to look into the use of dynamic pricing in its forthcoming government review of the secondary gig sales market.

Addressing the issue on Monday, the prime minister told BBC Radio 5 Live: “This is really important, because this isn’t just an Oasis problem.

“This is a problem for tickets for all sorts of events, where people go online straight away, as soon as they can, and within seconds sometimes, sometimes minutes, all the tickets are gone, and the prices start going through the roof, which means many people can’t afford it.

“You have to stop that. We’re consulting on that.”

A fan in England uses a smartphone to access an online ticket sales website to buy tickets for Oasis’ 2025 tour. Photo: AFP / Getty Images / TNS
A fan in England uses a smartphone to access an online ticket sales website to buy tickets for Oasis’ 2025 tour. Photo: AFP / Getty Images / TNS
Starmer added: “I do think there are a number of things that we can do and we should do, because otherwise you get to the situation where families simply can’t go, or are absolutely spending a fortune on tickets, whatever it may be.”
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