The general sale was due to open at 10am today but when a Gazette reporter opened the Ticketmaster website at 9.55am, 10am and just after 10am to buy tickets the site stated none were available.
A message on the website prior to 10am said:
“Sorry, tickets are currently not available. Please check back later, or view availability for other dates.”
Upset Blur fans took to social media to share their frustrations following the debacle, with many questioning if all tickets were sold in the earlier pre-sale. When queried, a representative for Blur said the majority of tickets went to Blur fans in the first instance, on a first come first served basis to fans who had signed up to the band’s online mailing list, leaving “a handful of tickets” available for the general sale.
Ticketmaster has been approached for comment.
The Britpop band has firm roots in Colchester. They had announced four warm-up shows ahead of their European tour, which will see the band take to the world-famous Wembley Stadium for two nights in July, on Tuesday.
They will start their warm-up shows with a special gig at Colchester Arts Centre, in Church Street, on Friday, May 19.
Earlier this week, the Gazette investigated ticket fraud after a Gazette reporter spotted “scammers” targeting Blur fans who missed out on securing pre-sale tickets.
Colchester Council’s culture and heritage boss Pam Cox, who was influential in securing the gig, said she was “very pleased” Blur is coming back to Colchester.
Ms Cox added:
“I had conversations with Dave Rowntree which were very helpful in moving the plans forward.
“I also spoke with Nigel Hildreth and between us, those three-way conversations helped pull it off.”
