When British rock band Oasis announced a reunion tour this week, there was an expected rush for tickets to the 17 shows. Perhaps predictably, there have been concerns and frustrations about the ticket-buying process due to high demand.

Tickets went on general sale on Saturday at 9 a.m. GMT, and it took a little while for social media users to start complaining about inflated prices, long wait times, and error warnings from ticketing company Ticketmaster.

Oasis | CNN Image

Oasis Fans Upset By High Prices And Long Delays On Ticketmaster Site

“‘In demand standing ticket’ is just a standard standing ticket except double the price,” Darragh Moriarty, a Dublin city councilor, wrote on X (previously known as Twitter).

Moriarty also shared a screenshot in his article displaying an In Demand Standing Ticket with fees priced at €415.50 ($459.61).

“To clarify, Ticketmaster does not set ticket prices,” a spokeswoman told CNN on Saturday.

Ticketmaster’s official website states: “Promoters and artists set ticket prices.” Prices may be fixed or market-based. Market-based tickets are identified as ‘Platinum’ or ‘In Demand.'”

Stephen Lowell of London stated on X that he had waited five hours for tickets only to receive the notification, “Your session has been suspended.”

“The website did not crash,” a Ticketmaster official told CNN on Saturday.

Oasis will begin their tour on July 4 with performances in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. Ticketmaster’s website states that the tour “will be one of the biggest live moments and hottest tickets of the decade.”

Oasis | New Yorker Image

Oasis Fans Upset By High Prices And Long Delays On Ticketmaster Site

A presale went live for those who got an email confirming their access. Oasis warned on its Instagram page that tickets would “be allocated on a first come, first served basis” and that “success in the ballot will not guarantee tickets.”

Buyers have frequently expressed dissatisfaction with purchasing tickets for large concert events. In November 2022, Ticketmaster and its parent firm, Live Nation Entertainment, faced public scrutiny for how they handled the enormously popular Taylor Swift Eras Tour.

SOURE | CNN

DUBAI, UAE  — Macklemore, an American rapper, has canceled an impending October show in Dubai due to the UAE’s suspected support for the paramilitary army fighting government soldiers in Sudan.

Macklemore’s revelation focused on the UAE’s participation in the conflict gripping the African nation. While the UAE has frequently denied providing the Rapid Support Forces and assisting their leader, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, UN specialists reported “credible” evidence in January that the Emirates transferred weaponry to the RSF multiple times per week from northern Chad.

Sudan descended into anarchy in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary commanders flared up in the capital, Khartoum, and extended to other regions, especially Darfur. According to estimates, over 18,800 people have died in the conflict, and more than 10 million have fled their homes. Hundreds of thousands face hunger.

American Rapper Macklemore Says He Canceled Dubai Show Over UAE Arming Sudan Paramilitary Forces

At a tense U.N. Security Council meeting in June, Sudan’s fragile government accused the UAE of supporting the RSF, prompting an Emirati diplomat to tell his counterpart to cease “grandstanding.” The UAE has participated in continuing peace efforts to halt the fighting.

The Emirati Foreign Ministry and Dubai Media Office had no immediate comment on Macklemore’s public remark Sunday. Last week, organizers said that the performance had been canceled and that refunds would be paid, but they did not explain why.

In a Saturday Instagram post, Grammy winner Macklemore claimed he had a series of people “asking me to cancel the show in solidarity with the people of Sudan and to boycott doing business in the UAE for the role they are playing in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis.”

Macklemore claimed he reconsidered the concert in part because of his previous outspoken support for Palestinians during the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip. He recently began performing a song called “Hind’s Hall,” in memory of Hind Rajab, a young girl slain in Gaza in a shooting that Palestinians blamed on Israeli forces opening fire on a civilian car.

“I know that this will probably jeopardise my future shows in the area, and I truly hate letting any of my fans down,” he said. “I was also quite excited. But, until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF, I will not perform there.”

He said, “I have no judgement against other artists who perform in the UAE.” But I do ask my peers who are slated to perform in Dubai: “What could we achieve if we used our platforms to mobilise collective liberation?”

The RSF was founded by Janjaweed fighters under former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who governed the country for three decades before being deposed in a popular rebellion in 2019. The International Criminal Court wants him on charges of genocide and other crimes committed during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s.

American Rapper Macklemore Says He Canceled Dubai Show Over UAE Arming Sudan Paramilitary Forces

Dubai, home to long-haul carrier Emirates, the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and other tourist attractions, has long attempted to attract A-list musicians to the city-state’s new stadium and other venues. However, performers have already highlighted the difficulty of performing in the UAE, a hereditarily administered federation of seven sheikhdoms where speech is strictly regulated.

That includes American comedian Dave Chappelle, who made headlines in Abu Dhabi in May when he referred to the Israel-Hamas conflict as a “genocide” while simultaneously mocking the UAE’s extensive surveillance infrastructure.

Macklemore, a 41-year-old rapper born Benjamin Hammond Haggerty in Kent, Washington, received a Grammy Award in 2014 for his breakout single “Thrift Shop.”

SOURCE | AP

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is offering some love to Taylor Swift fans in Austria.

On Wednesday, the band played the first of four concerts at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, where Martin and vocalist Maggie Rogers sang an acoustic interpretation of Swift’s 2008 song “Love Story.”

According to social media videos, Martin invited “two genuine Swifties” on stage to perform the song alongside Rogers.

Coldplay Covers Taylor Swift At Vienna Stadium Where Her Eras Tour Shows Were Canceled Due To Foiled Terror Plot

“We sing this song with so much love for Taylor and the Swifties,” Martin told the audience.

Coldplay appears to be the first major act to headline a show at the Austrian stadium since a foiled terror attack plot forced organizers to cancel three of Swift’s Eras Tour gigs earlier this month.

Swift was set to begin her three-show run on August 9 when Austrian authorities reported that they had foiled an ISIS-inspired plot to target one of her gigs.

“The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, as well as a tremendous amount of guilt, because so many people had planned to attend those shows,” Swift wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday. “But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”

The Grammy winner continued her tour last week with a five-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium, which ended on Tuesday.

Regarding safety measures for Coldplay concertgoers attending this week’s gigs, Live Nation GSA issued a news release on X outlining the venue’s safety plan.

Coldplay Covers Taylor Swift At Vienna Stadium Where Her Eras Tour Shows Were Canceled Due To Foiled Terror Plot

“The well-being of all attendees, artists, and staff is our top priority and, as always, Ernst-Happel-Stadion is coordinating with local authorities and partners in the lead-up to the concerts, to ensure the safety of everyone on site,” said the press release.

Coldplay is slated to perform three additional performances in Vienna on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

SOURCE | CNN