Fans of the Eurovision song contest have been left 'livid' after being unable to get their hands on tickets for the event, with others questioning why it isn't being held at a bigger venue in Manchester.
Ticketmaster 'crashed' on Tuesday (March 7) as the Eurovision tickets for the song contest in Liverpool went on sale, with all tickets selling out in just 90 minutes. Some users attempting to get their hands on tickets encountered a '500 Internal server error' message when trying to use the site.
Others shared screenshots showing more than 2,000 people ahead of them in a queue online after the awaited tickets officially went on sale at 12pm. Fans said they were 'livid' after missing out on getting tickets for the event.
Fans were quick to question why the contest wasn't being held in Manchester, home to the AO Arena, the second biggest venue in Europe, with a capacity of 21,000. Currently, the song contest is being held at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool - which can hold a fewer 11,000 people.
@2001joe_mendy wrote: "Excuse me, but I think you're forgetting someone *cough cough* Manchester (AO Arena Capacity: 21,000)" as @Jaydarcy7 wrote: "Manchester Arena is like the second biggest arena in Europe - should have been there!"
A third fan, @carzavol questioned: "Wait wait, so the #Eurovision Liverpool arena holds 11,000 people (8,800 for the final). Yet AO in Manchester, and O2 in London hold 22,000 each. Hell, the SSE Hydro in Glasgow holds 14500 FFS!" as @joshspears007 said: "Why not Manchester or London?"
The huge demand on Tuesday saw Ticketmaster issue a warning for anyone who hoped to get tickets online. Eager fans were told to log into their account and add their phone number for a one-time passcode to safeguard the sale from bots.
But with thousands racing against the clock, others were left disappointed when they were left unable to get tickets. Just 90 minutes after the tickets went on sale, Eurovision officially announced all shows and previews had completely sold out.
The official Twitter page for the song contest wrote; "All #Eurovision2023 shows including previews are now SOLD OUT. Demand was super high but don’t forget we have 3 amazing TV shows planned for this year's Contest & lots of Eurovision activities and parties around Liverpool during the event!"
@TonyCliffe210 tweeted: "Livid I didn't get Eurovision tickets" as @mrsmintmav humorously quipped: "It is more likely that I write a song, record it and release it and it’s picked to be the 2023 UK entry than I ever was to get a @Eurovision ticket in that shower of s*** that @TicketmasterUK just ran. What a joke. I knew it would be difficult but that was impossible."
@OTAnna replied, writing: "@Eurovision Absolutely gutted. Joined lobby early & been in 3 different queues and got nowhere. Why such a small arena would be first question. Pathetic."
@evelienh added: "Yeah impossible to get Eurovision tickets. maybe I’ll buy one later from the hiked up prices" as @katkauma tweeted: "it is literally impossible to get a eurovision ticket".
Typically the previous years’ winner hosts the competition, however, after Ukraine took the title in 2022, it was decided that the UK would host on their behalf. People from around the world will be heading to Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena to watch the contest, which the UK last won in 1998.
A Ticketmaster spokesperson said: “The Ticketmaster site did not crash today – rather a very small number of fans experienced issues accessing the queue. Ticket sales were unaffected, and thousands of fans secured their seats for the Eurovision Song Contest, which is now sold out.”
As a BBC Spokesperson said: “As expected demand for Eurovision Song Contest tickets was extremely high and tickets for all nine shows sold out in 90 minutes. Congratulations to those who secured their seats to Liverpool Arena in May. We are now looking forward to putting on a brilliant show for our global TV audience and those watching on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.”
Eurovision has been approached for comment.
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