The China Mail - UK, Ireland Oasis reunion concerts sell out after fans face online woes

The chaotic scramble for the prized tickets followed the announcement Tuesday that brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher had ended their infamous 15-year feud and were reuniting the 1990s-founded band for a worldwide tour.

"Oasis Live '25 UK and Ireland tickets have now SOLD OUT," the group said at 1800 GMT, some 10 hours after they first went on general sale.

"Please be aware of counterfeit and void tickets appearing on the secondary market."

Tickets for the 17 UK and Ireland performances next July and August -- kicking off what has been billed as a global tour -- were expected to sell out within minutes.

But with millions of fans flooding online for a chance to see the band play live for the first time since 2009, several sales websites struggled with the sheer volume of eager buyers.

Hundreds of thousands were left waiting for hours in online queues for each of the different dates -- or just to join the official waiting list.

Others were unable to even access one of the sales websites and were instead greeted with an error message, while some encountered infuriating glitches.

An AFP reporter at the end of the purchase process after waiting online for several hours was abruptly dumped to the back of the queue for one date, behind nearly 200,000 others. The reporter did not succeed on subsequent attempts.

- Memes -

By mid-afternoon, Ticketmaster's Irish site said tickets for two mid-August concerts in Dublin had sold out.

A company spokesperson insisted the UK site had not crashed and that "millions of fans" were "moving along" its queue for the 15 events there.

But exasperated fans were unimpressed, with social media full of memes and mockery.

"Unfortunately, Oasis have split up while you were in the queue," joked one X account.

"Can we just go back to the old days of queuing outside the record shop or gig venue to buy tickets please?" said another.

Some lucky fans snagged a small number of tickets in a Friday pre-sale, after success in a heavily oversubscribed ballot.

But some of those tickets promptly appeared on resale sites at heavily inflated prices, some as high as £6,000 ($7,875).

That prompted Oasis to warn on X that "tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled".

The group behind hit songs including "Wonderwall", "Don't Look Back In Anger" and "Champagne Supernova" will stage concerts in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The eagerly-awaited Tuesday announcement also promised concerts in "continents outside of Europe later next year".

Tickets for their UK events started at around £75 ($98), rising to around £150 for standing in front of the stage.

Some complained Saturday that "in demand" standing tickets cost as much as £360.

The most expensive at London's Wembley stadium -- which include extras such as a pre-show party -- set buyers back more than £500.

- 'Spark' -

Formed in Manchester, northwest England, in 1991, Oasis helped create the Britpop era of that decade, enjoying a fierce rivalry with London band Blur.

The Gallagher brothers became notorious for their public fights, which came to a head at a 2009 Paris festival, when Liam broke one of Noel's guitars.

That was the last time they played together, although each has regularly performed the group's hits to sold-out crowds.

The reunion tour will take place 30 years after Oasis's 1995 album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", which received international critical and commercial acclaim.

It will kick off over two nights at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital Cardiff from July 4, 2025, followed a week later by five gigs at Heaton Park in their hometown, Manchester.

Oasis will then play Wembley -- on July 25, 26 and 30 as well as August 2 and 3 -- before three nights at Murrayfield Stadium in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, on August 8, 9 and 12.

Two more performances at Dublin's Croke Park are scheduled in mid-August.

The band has promised sets "full of wall-to-wall classics", showcasing the "charisma, spark and intensity that only comes when Liam and Noel Gallagher are on-stage together".

British hoteliers and pub owners are among those hoping for a boom in business, akin to the economic boost in numerous places set off by Taylor Swift's recent tour.

E.Lau--ThChM