A lost opportunity and frustrated fans: Coldplay concert ticket sale leaves Indians dismayed

Coldplay is coming to India in November.

Last Sunday afternoon, many Indian fans of the popular British band Coldplay had an "Adventure of a Lifetime" when they tried booking tickets for the band's upcoming concert in the country.

From people trying on multiple devices to family and friends tapping into their network to get hold of the coveted tickets, the 'cold rush' was in full flow. However, the booking experience did not strike the right chord with many of the band's fans.

"Last time when Coldplay played in India I was unable to attend the concert so I had high hopes this  time. I am a very big fan of Coldplay and we were all set when the sale for the concert went live. We were logged into four devices and had filled in all the payment-related details on BookMyShow. However, the booking did not start at the stipulated time which was 12 pm on September 22. Till 12.10, the bookings did not start," said a Bengaluru resident and a Coldplay fan, who didn't wish to be named.

He added that through news notifications he came to know that the app had crashed. "Just before the booking started we were logged out by the website and we had to log back in through OTP (one-time password) which we did not receive a couple of times. So we were unable to log in for some time and by the time I could there were around 1.42 lakh people ahead of me in the virtual queue for the show on 18th," he added.

BookMyShow in a statement had said that 1.3 crore fans had logged in to book Coldplay tickets.

Coldplay chaos

Another Coldplay fan who resides in Mumbai was worn out after the entire booking process but the scenario for her was not so bad as she managed to book not just one but four tickets.

"I was exhausted after booking the tickets, But had I not got the tickets, I would have been heartbroken. For me it is the nostalgia factor. I have been listening to their songs since childhood and all through college life. I am sure people will be super overwhelmed during the concert," she said, tired but happy.

All set since 10.45 am on September 22 to book tickets on four devices along with her sister, the Mumbai resident was eagerly waiting for the clock to strike 12 pm. But she too was left disappointed when the tickets did not go on sale by that time.

"At 12:40 pm, the booking went live on our systems and to me the site showed that as many as 4 lakh people were ahead of me for the January 18 show and 3.5 lakh people were ahead of me for the January 19 show. The site had also crashed at around 12 pm. While on my laptop the site was live, the app crashed and even when it came back, it was very slow," she said.

She added that the scenario was crazy with people checking with their friends and family if they were able to get tickets and if they could give them a few.

"People were tapping into their friends and family network. For instance, if someone was able to book four tickets, others were requesting tickets from them. One of my sister's colleagues was trying to book 15 tickets through eight different devices and was able to book eight tickets. It was a crazy day," she said.

Second time's a charm

She got lucky when one of her friends told her about the additional show.

The band took to social media site X to inform people about the additional show in India. "Due to phenomenal demand, a third Mumbai date has been added at DY Patil Stadium for 21 January, 2025," the band's statement said.

"One of my friend's informed me about the January 21 show. We quickly checked for it and were able to book four tickets. However, the queuing to me seemed random because for my friend who informed me about the additional show, the waitlist showed 85,000 people ahead of her. The waitlist for my sister who had logged in before me showed over 10 lakh people ahead. Among the three of us, I was the last to log in but my waitlist showed 99 and on the phone it was 77 people ahead of me," she said.

Lost all hope

The Bengaluru resident cited above said that he had lost all hopes when he was trying to book tickets for the January 18 and 19 show.

"I did not check about the January 21 show after already spending 45 minutes on ticket booking for the concert. I have relatives living 10 minutes away from DY Stadium where the Coldplay concert will be held and I had everything set except the (concert) tickets. So I was very frustrated. Since the time the sale was announced, my wife and I had started planning. I also felt cheated because I got kicked out of the website when the booking started. In addition, I could not go last time so I was counting on the upcoming concert as I am a huge Coldplay fan. Now, I am exploring the international options," he said.

In January, the band will also perform in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi show is scheduled for January 11. In April, the band will have three shows in Hong Kong and four in Seoul.

"I am exploring the international options but I want to see how the tickets are priced. Also, for the Coldplay concert tickets in many international markets, there is pre-sale. However in India, it was one general window for all. And I will not be indulging in the black market selling of concert tickets because the markup is very high," he added.

Inflated ticket prices

On BookMyShow, Coldplay concert tickets were available starting from Rs 2,500 up to Rs 35,000 for lounge tickets.

However, some people are selling tickets directly through social media at inflated prices. A site called Viagogo is selling Coldplay tickets actually worth Rs 35,000 for Rs 1 lakh. A check on the site showed available tickets across categories but at very high prices. Coldplay tickets on the site start from Rs 38,000 going up to Rs 1.28 lakh.

Reportedly, a Coldplay India fan has urged the band to prohibit reselling tickets to their January India shows. The fan in the petition has said that Coldplay's "loyal fans are left disillusioned as an overwhelming percentage of these tickets have been snapped up by ticket resellers who are usurping their love for music and reselling these tickets at an inflated markup, sometimes up to 10 times the original price”.