Australia’s live entertainment industry suffers significantly

Australia’s live entertainment industry suffered a devastating loss of more than A$1.4bn (£770m/€911.5m/$1.06bn) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a report from Live Performance Australia has revealed.  Ticket sales tumbled in 2020 following a record year in 2018 and a second-best year in 2019. In 2019, Australia’s live performance industry generated ticket sales of almost A$2bn. …

See Tickets acquires LiveBuzz – TheTicketingBusiness News

Independent ticketing company See Tickets has acquired LiveBuzz, a provider of services to the UK exhibition sector.  See Tickets, which is owned by French global media company Vivendi, believes the acquisition will compliment its existing activities. The transaction is immediately accretive to earnings.  Global chief executive at See Tickets Rob Wilmshurt said: “We are delighted …

Mixed feelings over Budget from live entertainment sector

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced the key points of his Budget for 2022 in the House of Commons yesterday (Wednesday).  There has been a mixed response from the live entertainment and music sector over the related points made in the Budget and Spending Review, with some urging the Government to do …

Advance ticketing rules come into play in Ireland

Irish live venue and nightclub operators will have to ensure that customers have purchased a ticket at least one hour in advance of an event, with the regulations coming into force today (Thursday).  The Irish Government recently updated the COVID-19 guidelines and venues and nightclubs were allowed to open last Friday. Nightlife industry representatives had …

Quarter of a million flock to honour Van Gogh in London

More than 250,000 art and culture fans have descended on London to visit the Van Gogh Alive exhibition since it arrived in the English capital in June.  Van Gogh Alive is an immersive multi-sensory experience and has already wowed eight million visitors across 75 cities around the world. It is based on the life and …

AFC Wimbledon suspends FA Cup ticketing until Friday

The Club and Dons Trust, a supporters organisation which owns English League One football club AFC Wimbledon, has apologised to fans hoping to purchase their usual seat for the upcoming Emirates FA Cup game against Guiseley.  The Trust hoped to free up large sections of the Ry stand at Plough Lane for this match so …

Ticketpass launches own resale platform

Ticketing company Ticketpass has launched its own resale platform.  The secondary ticketing marketplace will allow ticket holders to resell their tickets up to face-value cost or pass on their tickets to somebody else.  Ticketpass, which aims to be ethical and champion event organisers and attendees and donates 50% of its ticket booking fees to charity, …

Eventfinda creates seating bubbles in line with restrictions

Online event ticketing service Eventfinda has announced it is launching a seating ‘bubbles’ option to help event organisers and venues comply with Government capacity restrictions due to COVID-19 in Australia. The New Zealand company is offering allocated seating bubbles in Australia, meaning that organisers and venues no longer have to manually correct and ensure physical …

Wolfsburg innovates with VfL CONNECT app

German Bundesliga football club VfL Wolfsburg has rolled out an innovative new service for the hospitality areas of its Volkswagen Arena, and is already fielding inquiries from other sports teams interested in its technology. VfL CONNECT has been dubbed a unique solution combining a VIP service app including ticketing functions. The project commenced in mid-January …