British rock band Coldplay is all set for their much-awaited second show in India in January next year. While this is their first full-fledged tour in the country, the band had earlier visited India in 2016 for the Global Citizen Festival in Mumbai. Coldplay had initially announced a two-day tour at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on January 18 and 19, 2025. However, due to huge demand, a third show was added on January 21.

The tour announcement sent Coldplay fans into a frenzy, with tickets selling out within minutes on BookMyShow – the official ticketing partner. But what should have been an exciting experience for fans quickly turned into a nightmare. Many fans reported that they were unable to get their hands on tickets despite doing everything right. So, what went wrong? And most importantly, who really benefited from it? Spoiler: it wasn’t the fans.

Tickets for Coldplay’s Mumbai concert on September 22 went live at noon. Fans from across the country were ready, logging in from multiple devices to move ahead in the queue. However, as the clock struck noon, BookMyShow’s server crashed for 2-3 minutes, forcing many fans to log out and rejoin the queue. In the blink of an eye, the virtual queue grew to over 1 million people, with only 50,000 tickets available for each show.

For those who couldn’t get tickets for January 18 and 19, a third show was announced on January 21, with tickets going live at 2 pm. But the same problems persisted. And when all three shows were sold out, social media started buzzing about third-party sites selling tickets at exorbitant prices.

Despite BookMyShow’s policy of limiting ticket purchases to four per account, third-party sellers managed to acquire bulk tickets. Websites such as Viagogo were found selling tickets at up to 100 times the original price. For example, stand tickets that had a starting price of Rs 6,500 were listed on Viagogo for Rs 30,000 to Rs 75,000.

While BookMyShow promptly issued a statement warning that tickets purchased from unauthorized third-party sites would be invalid, the inflated resale market continued nonetheless. Worse, within an hour of the sell-out, individuals on social media began selling their “spare” tickets at inflated prices, exploiting desperate fans. The uncontrolled transfer of tickets gave small businesses and individuals an opportunity to exploit the loophole and profit from the situation.

The issue was not limited to unauthorised sites. Several companies, including Spreh, Finderbridge and UrbanMatch, were seen offering Coldplay concert tickets for free on social media. Fans were left wondering how these companies could get their hands on tickets if general buyers were unable to purchase them.

The lack of security measures to prevent bulk purchases and the inability to track devices used in multiple purchases is a major concern for fans. Additionally, without any penalties for ticket transfers, small businesses are exploiting this system, leaving loyal fans empty-handed and out of pocket.

While some fans were lucky enough to get tickets, many were left disappointed. In the end, who really benefited from this mess? Not Coldplay. Not the fans. Instead, third-party scalpers and businesses that profit from inflated ticket sales are the real winners.

Coldplay announced that a limited number of Infinity tickets — affordable seats with stunning seating areas — will be available to some lucky fans on November 22, 2024. But for now, the concert has turned out to be a bitter-sweet experience for many.

Coldplay, which consists of singer and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion, has been touring as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour since 2022. The band is also set to release a new album, Moon Music, in October 2024.