Eurovision tickets reselling for up to £12,000 as fans hunt for ways to attend contest
Eurovision tickets sold out in half an hour - and were then appearing on re-sale sites for thousands of pounds above the face value, as Rachel Townsend reports
Fans of Eurovision searching for ways to get a ticket for the song contest are being quoted prices up to £12,000 by third party sellers.
Tickets for the international music event went on sale at midday on Tuesday - with nine different live shows available.
The dedicated website page appeared to crash shortly before tickets were due to become available, with issues continuing throughout the sale.
Now, fans who are trying to buy tickets from a third party are being quoted £11,800 for one person.
The international singing competition will take place at the 11,000-capacity Liverpool Arena later this year, culminating in the grand final on 13 May.
The event is being held in the city after the UK was chosen to host the competition on behalf of war-torn 2022 winner Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Viagogo said: "Viagogo is a regulated marketplace and we want fans to have the options and flexibility they deserve for buying and selling tickets to live events.
"It’s important to stress that prices can change and are not necessarily an indication of what a fan will spend.
"Tickets listed at eye-catching, high levels rarely, if ever, sell.
"Having just gone on sale, demand for a Eurovision ticket is high, but last year some tickets for the event sold on viagogo for as little as £26.
"We encourage fans to keep monitoring our site for different options."
A Eurovision statement said: "We have switched off Ticketmaster’s ticket transfer option (this option enables purchasers of tickets to transfer their tickets into the names of others) in order to reduce the ability to resell tickets at inflated prices.
"Purchasers who wish to resell their tickets can do so at face value through Ticketmaster’s Fan to Fan Resale platform.
"Any tickets proven to be breaching terms and conditions of sale can be invalidated."
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