₹3.36 lakh for 1 seat: Reseller prices soar up to 26x as Coldplay concert tickets vanish instantly on BookMyShow

Indian fans of Coldplay were left fuming on Sunday as tickets resurfaced on reseller sites amid frantic efforts to secure a seat. Millions had queued up on the Bookmyshow website and app for three shows at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai — totaling approximately 1.5 lakh seats. But as tickets ran low and laments filled social media, reseller sites thrived.

Platforms such as Viagogo have since listed tickets at 10 to 20 times the original prices while many other took to social media platforms to sell ‘extra’ tickets that they had purchased. The development came even as Coldplay announced a third show in response to the ‘phenomenal’ demand and millions waited hopefully in queue.

“We implemented a queueing system to manage the overwhelming demand and addressed issues caused by suspicious and malicious traffic within minutes, causing a brief delay, but ensuring minimal disruption for genuine fans. Due to the unprecedented demand, a third Mumbai show was added shortly thereafter, which also received a fantastic response,” said a BookMyShow spokesperson.

This author can add (based on personal experiences) that the ticketing queue had stretched beyond 13 lakh mark as the third show was announced and the second sale commenced at 2:00 pm.

A quick perusal of the reseller site Viagogo around this time indicated that standing (floor) tickets initially priced at ₹6,450 were now being resold for ₹50,000 and above.

Another seller advertised two Level 2 tickets for the Saturday show (sold on Bookmyshow for ₹12,500) for a whopping ₹336,620 each. 

One Viagogo user was also spotted selling Level 1 tickets for ₹1,056,320 each — a 234x hike on its original price of ₹4500.

Meanwhile, Lounge tickets for the third Coldplay show on January 21 (initially for ₹35,000) were listed with prices ranging up to ₹10 lakh each.

A brisk resale of tickets is also underway on social media platforms with hundreds emphasising their willingness to pay ‘extra’ for the chance to see the band live.

“Anyone trying to resell their Coldplay tickets for Mumbai show at obviously inflated prices should have their tickets canceled. Bookmyshow and Coldplay please take strict action,” urged one user.

“The issue of our country is 50% people are booking the ticket to make money and not attend the show. I can see already black selling has started on X…its disgusting,” fumed another.

Several social media handles have also begun announcing ‘giveaways’ and contests for extra tickets. Many of these nearly-identical messages claimed that the additional seats would be shared for free with the winners.

The posts — often shared by blue-ticked X handles — insisted that they had all secured the same four seats (but required only two).

“Some top tier engagement farming going on with the whole ‘I got 4 Coldplay tickets, but need only 2. So like and RT’ racket,” jibed one user.

(With inputs from agencies)