A pre-sale for Ariana Grande's UK dates of her 2026 tour sold out within minutes and saw many tickets reappear on resale platforms at dramatically higher prices, prompting public complaints from fans and comedian Alan Davies.
Davies, 59, said he had joined Ticketmaster's pre-sale waiting room on behalf of his teenage daughter but found seats already listed on resale websites. "Hmm, I joined the @ticketmaster Ariana Grande pre-sale waiting room ahead of the 10am start, on behalf of my teenage daughter, and while I was queuing for an hour like a mug these tickets had already appeared on the scumbag tout sites, now the gig is showing as sold out. Wicked," he wrote on X.
A check by the Daily Mail found tickets for one London date listed on Viagogo at prices as high as £4,000, with other listings at about £1,200 and the cheapest observed at £430. Face-value tickets had been offered from about £76, rising to £405 for VIP packages.
Fans reacted angrily on social media, calling for platforms to limit resale prices to face value and accusing touts of exploiting demand. One user wrote: "Viagogo tickets for Ariana Grande which JUST WENT ON SALE if you bought tickets just to resell I genuinely wish the worst for you." Another said they had "one disappointed daughter" after failing to secure pre-sale tickets and finding resellers charging double or triple face value.
Reports of errant charges also emerged from outside the U.K. Brisbane-based influencer Jade Campbell posted on TikTok that Ticketmaster had charged her about $80,000 in an attempt to buy two tickets for a Canadian date, which she said occurred after she was unable to purchase first-round tickets and had to select a resale listing. The claim has been widely shared online; Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The rapid sellout and subsequent resale listings drew a response from Grande. On social media, the singer, 32, said she had been made aware of activity on secondary ticket markets and that she was "incredibly bothered by it." She added that she had been "on the phone every second of my free time fighting for a solution" and that she and her team were "doing everything we can" to get more tickets into fans' hands.
Ticketing and secondary-market practices have long been contentious, with critics saying automated buying tools and coordinated reselling create artificial scarcity and inflate prices. Promoters, primary ticketing platforms and resellers say they provide a marketplace for people to transfer tickets, though some countries and jurisdictions have moved to impose restrictions on resale prices and stricter verification to limit scalping.
Grande's tour demand follows years of high-profile shows and, in 2017, the bombing at Manchester Arena that killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 during a concert in which she was performing. The attack remains a sensitive reference point when discussing her live events; Grande has previously spoken about being "broken" by the tragedy.
Tickets for major pop acts frequently sell out rapidly in primary sales, pushing many fans to secondary markets or to wait for additional dates and onsales. Artists and their teams sometimes release additional tickets or onsale dates in response to demand, but there is no guarantee of allocation to those who missed initial sales.
As of Wednesday the resale listings remained live on several platforms. Ticketing companies and resellers did not immediately issue a joint statement addressing the specific listings that appeared after the pre-sale, and it was unclear whether additional official ticket releases would be announced. Grande's public pledge to "fight for a solution" signaled engagement from the artist's side, but fans and consumer advocates say structural changes to how primary and secondary markets operate are needed to prevent rapid and extreme price inflation during popular onsales.