Ticketmaster crashes as Taylor Swift fans rush to get the first tickets for UK shows
10 July 2023, 14:23 | Updated: 10 July 2023, 14:40
Ticketmaster has crashed as Taylor Swift fans swarmed the site - trying to be the first to get tickets to the UK leg of the hitmaker's Eras Tour.
The huge ticketing website experienced technical difficulties as the pre-sale tickets were offered this morning - with devastated fans (known as Swifties) left scrambling as they tried to get a new place in the queue.
The exclusive sale was on offer to those who pre-ordered Swift's Midnights album - as a reward for their loyalty.
Fans reported online that the popular retailers were designating them as a bot - or saying they were ineligible to buy a seat despite having an access code.
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Those who missed out will have a second shot at avoiding not getting tickets - as the general sale is still to come.
This is not the first time the superstar's fans have experienced the difficulty - as the US leg of the Era Tour also crashed Ticketmaster.
The furore from Swifties after this led to executives from LiveNation, which owns Ticketmaster, to be hauled in front of a Congressional committee to discuss the company's seeming monopoly on ticketing services.
The latest controversy comes months after Eurovision fans crashed part of the website as they attempted to secure tickets to the live shows in May.
The dedicated website page appeared to crash shortly before tickets were due to become available, with issues continuing throughout the sale.
Some were met with a “500 – Internal Server Error” message while others reported receiving a message saying their session had expired “due to inactivity” while they were waiting in the queue.
The international singing competition took place at the 11,000-capacity Liverpool Arena earlier this year, with Sweden's Loreen taking home the title on Merseyside at the grand final on May 13.
These controversies are likely to intensify calls for anti-trust investigations into LiveNation, which operates several of the venues which host major events as well as Ticketmaster.
