Bruno Mars two concerts sold out, resale tickets at inflated prices

The Grammy winner's shows here next year were sold out within 3½ hours

American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars' Singapore concerts are held next month.
American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars' Singapore concerts are held next month. PHOTO: REUTERS

All 22,000 tickets to both nights of Grammy winner Bruno Mars' concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium in May next year sold out within 3½ hours of being released to the public. It is among one of the fastest-selling concerts here in recent memory.

And ticket resellers were equally quick to react, with a few of them trying to flip the tickets for a profit immediately after tickets went on sale via official channels.

The addition of Mars' second show on May 7 was announced less than an hour after ticket sales started yesterday at 10am for the May 6 show, with organiser Live Nation Lushington citing the "overwhelming response" to the original show.

Mars' 24K Magic World Tour dates here on May 6 and 7 are among a slew of popular concerts that have seen brisk business in the past year.

Last November, up to 14,000 public sales tickets to Coldplay's April 1 show at the National Stadium this year were snapped up within 90 minutes, before a second show date was added on March 31.

The band eventually played to a sold-out crowd of 100,000 over two nights as part of their A Head Full Of Dreams tour.

In May this year, an estimated 10,000 tickets for Ed Sheeran's Nov 11 show, his first of two performances at the Indoor Stadium next month, sold out within 40 minutes.

Last month, 20,000 tickets to the Backstreet Boys show at the National Stadium tomorrow were snapped up within two hours of going on sale.

With many major concerts making a stop here, ticket resellers have been active on websites such as Carousell, Viagogo and Craigslist. It is common to see tickets offered for resale within hours of the start of official sales.

By 11am yesterday, one user was reselling a pair of Category 1 tickets, which originally cost $348 each, at $1,500 a ticket on Carousell.

The account seemed to have been suspended subsequently, but there were still plenty of other users selling tickets at inflated prices.

At about 3pm, a pair of Category 5 standing tickets, which originally cost $248 each, were going for double the price - at $1,000 for both - on Carousell.

Inflated pricing is just one of the problems for buyers of tickets on the resale market. Another is the prospect of losing their money should the concert be cancelled.

Sheeran fans here who bought their tickets to his concert on the resale market are wondering if they will be able to get refunds for the original prices of the tickets if the singer should cancel the Nov 11 and 12 concerts due to his recent injury.

He has fractured his right wrist and left elbow after a bicycle accident in London. Already, he has said he will not be able to go ahead as planned for current dates in Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Hong Kong.

He did not mention the Singapore show, but said on Instagram he was "waiting to see how the healing progresses before we have to decide on shows beyond that".

In the event of a cancellation, the usual policy is that refunds are done through the original mode of payment. For payment by credit card, the refund will be automatically credited to the same credit card used for the transaction in 14 days.

In the case of the cancelled Justin Bieber concert originally scheduled for this month, customers who made purchases by cash or Nets had to proceed to the Sports Hub Tix box office with their tickets and a photo identification to get a refund.

The Straits Times understands that refunds are made only to the original buyers.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 20, 2017, with the headline Bruno Mars two concerts sold out, resale tickets at inflated prices. Subscribe