The unexpected cancellation of Oasis concert tickets has left many fans frustrated, especially as the highly anticipated 2025 reunion tour brought record-breaking demand. Here’s a breakdown of what happened and what it means for ticket holders.
The Rise in Demand and Limited Ticket Access
On August 31, 2024, tickets for Oasis’s UK and Ireland leg of the 2025 tour went on sale exclusively through Ticketmaster and its resale partner, Twickets.
This limited access was an attempt to control reselling practices and protect fans from inflated prices, but the demand was astronomical: approximately 1.4 million tickets were sold, while over 10 million fans from 158 countries tried to purchase them. By the end of the day, tickets were sold out for all 17 European shows.
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Why Were Tickets Cancelled?
In an effort to curtail secondary market reselling, Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, decided to cancel about 50,000 tickets found on secondary sales platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub.
The decision aligns with policies set by Oasis’s tour promoters to keep tickets accessible at face value. Oasis is not the first high-profile act to take this approach, as ticket scalping has increasingly become a focal point in the entertainment industry. According to Live Nation, only 4% of Oasis tickets ended up on these unauthorized platforms, a stark contrast to some tours where resale reaches up to 20%.
Secondary Ticketing: A Growing Challenge
While platforms like Viagogo and StubHub offer fans a chance to resell tickets, concerns have grown over scalpers who buy tickets in bulk and resell them at inflated prices. For the Oasis tour, some tickets listed on resale sites reached exorbitant figures, with some selling as high as £119,000 (around $143,000). Despite this, representatives from Viagogo argue that their site operates within legal bounds and provides a secure, transparent resale marketplace for consumers.
Refunds and Next Steps for Ticket Holders
For those impacted by the cancellation, Live Nation has assured that refunds will be issued, and any canceled tickets will be re-released on Ticketmaster for fans to repurchase at the original prices. Fans who believe their tickets were canceled in error are encouraged to contact the relevant ticketing agency to resolve the matter.
Dynamic Pricing and Its Controversial Impact
The initial ticket sale also drew criticism due to the use of dynamic pricing—a pricing model that adjusts based on demand. While commonly applied to airfare and ride-sharing services, it caught Oasis fans off guard, with some tickets initially priced at £135 later jumping to £355 during checkout. This led to backlash from fans who accused Ticketmaster and the promoters of capitalizing on demand, and it prompted official investigations.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Ireland’s Consumer Protection Commission have launched investigations into how dynamic pricing was applied during the Oasis ticket sale. Though legal under EU consumer laws, dynamic pricing is tightly regulated. Authorities aim to ensure prices are transparent and fair for consumers, especially when it involves large-scale events.
Oasis Tour 2025
Despite the ticketing challenges, Oasis’s tour is set to begin on July 4, 2025, in Cardiff, with additional shows in Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. The North American leg will commence on August 24, 2025, in Toronto, with stops in major cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Mexico City.
This tour marks Oasis’s return after more than a decade.
