SINGAPORE - Madonna fans who had bought tickets early to her concert at the National Stadium on Sunday (Feb 28) are mad at the organisers for adding a new ticket category.
Digital marketing director Ivan De Luna-Sison, 29, and his friends bought Standing Pen A tickets at $188 after studying the seating configuration map found on the Sports Hub Tix on Jan 11.
To his dismay, a new category, Standing Pen A1 that costs $388, now exists in front of Standing Pen A. While the organisers had announced that particular additional category on Feb 16, he found out about it only on Thursday.
Mr De Luna-Sison claims that the new category would mean that he and his friends will not be as close to the stage as they were meant to believe when they first bought the tickets.
"The whole point of buying tickets early is that you get good value, good tickets," he says. "They didn't even e-mail us, I just found out about it, which was very upsetting, you feel very cheated."
While the size of Standing Pen A on the map was also reduced after the new category was added, the ticketing page clearly states that the map was not drawn to scale and that the layout was "subject to change".
Mr De Luna-Sison and his friends are hoping to either get a refund or have their tickets be closer to the stage. He is also considering filing a complaint to consumer watchdog Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).
At least one other fan in the same predicament has taken to social media to vent his frustation. Like Mr De Luna-Sison, Facebook user Ian Watson posted on Mediacorp VizPro's official page, asking them to"explain how you can add a new standing zone in front of the original standing zone".
Mediacorp VizPro is the local coordinator for the concert, which is produced by Live Nation Global Touring in association with East West Best and supported by Kinglun International Holdings and The UMS Group.
In response to queries, a Kinglun spokesman says in an e-mail statement: "Standing Pen A1 is a reconfiguration of the existing CAT 1 section, therefore the original position of Standing Pen A has not been shifted. As the seating plan is not drawn to scale, it might seem that Standing Pen A was shifted back."
