Tickets for comedian Peter Kay’s two Scottish gigs were being punted by touts for more than ten times the face value price on resale sites within minutes of going on sale.
Fans queuing on official site, Ticketmaster, on Saturday were told there were 150,000 people waiting in front of them, all desperate to see the Car Share funny man at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro.
But almost immediately after release at 10am, ticket touts were trying to fleece fans by selling tickets for as much as £469 on secondary ticket site Viagogo.
There’s been unprecedented demand to see the comedian who’s making a comeback with his first tour in more than a decade and tickets for the 14,300 capacity Glasgow venue sold out within hours.
The 49-year-old comic from Bolton announced earlier this month that he was embarking on an arena tour spanning from December to August 2023, which was later extended into 2024. It comes just days after the comedian announced his ticket prices would start at £35 due to the cost of living being “at an all-time high”.
He added that this was “the same price” as on his previous tour in 2010.
Fans took to Twitter to express their dismay at ticket touts trying to cash in.
Chelsea tweeted: “How are sites like Viagogo allowed? Peter Kay at the Hydro - £400 per ticket - more than 10 times the face value amount. Scandalous.”
Joanna Dunkley added: “Sat since 9.30am to get Peter Kay tickets for Glasgow, got in with 17,000 in front of me.
“Hydro is now at low availability and still 13,000 in front. Yet ticket resellers are selling them for £200 a ticket. Ridiculous. How is that allowed!?”
Fellow comedian Jason Manford took to Twitter to have a go at ticket touts looking to profit at the expense of fans. He tweeted: “Phew lucky enough to get 2x Peter Kay tickets. For sale 2x Peter Kay tickets, £3500 each ono.”
After many other venues across the UK sold out, Kay took to twitter to thank fans, saying he had been blown away by the interest in his tour.
He tweeted: “Absolutely blown away by the ticket sales so far, especially as some of the shows aren’t for a good while yet. but don’t worry we’ll have a good laugh when we’re all together.”
Virgin Media, O2 and Three customers were offered early bird tickets two days early. O2 and Virgin - which are part of the same company - said it was the highest demand there had been for priority tickets in 15 years.
Tickets for comedian’s other UK sold out dates were also being resold at extortionate prices on resale sites yesterday.
For the comic’s opening night on December 2 at the AO Arena in Manchester, tickets that started at £35 face value have appeared for a whopping £707.
However tickets at a face value price of £150 each in Leeds in September were on sale at Viagogo for £1,770.
More dates have been added to the tour in London, Manchester and Birmingham to try and match the unprecedented demand.
Best known for his Phoenix Nights TV show and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere, the comedian is due to appear on stage in Glasgow on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6, 2023.
The Sunday Mail contacted Viagogo for comment but they did not respond.
A spokeswoman for the OVO Hydro, which was formerly known as the SSE Hydro, said: “The SEC is not involved in setting ticket prices and recommends tickets be purchased from event official ticket outlets.”
The Sunday Mail has contacted Peter Kay’s representatives for comment.
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