Coldplay tickets have sold like hot cakes, or was there foul play too?

A few days after the Internet was abuzz with how Diljit Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati Tour tickets in India were sold out within 30 seconds and the singer came under severe criticism for an alleged ticket scam, there’s another concert ticket controversy taking social media by storm.

On Sunday, tickets for the Coldplay concert in Mumbai in January 2025 went live on BookMyShow around noon but were sold out within minutes, leading to major backlash on social media.

On September 19, BookMyShow announced that the British band will be performing in Mumbai’s DY Patil Sports Stadium on January 18 and 19 as part of their ongoing Music of the Spheres world tour. On Sunday, another day got added to the roster due to the phenomenal demand for tickets, which caused the BookMyShow app, the portal on which the tickets are being sold, to crash even before sales went live. With tickets sold out within seconds, the organisers added a third date — January 21 — to the band’s concert calendar in Mumbai.

As the clock ticked to noon on Sunday, fans had their eye on the BookMyShow app for the concert tickets for January 18 and 19. With time, the demand increased and the queue went up to 8 lakh and more. As fans waited eagerly for their turn, the tickets were sold out. With the app facing criticism on social media, a third date for the show (January 21) was announced soon after, with fresh tickets going live at 2pm. Even those tickets — ranging from ₹2,500 to ₹35,000 — were sold out within seconds!

“Today is a landmark moment in India’s live entertainment history as we saw true fandom, overwhelming love and incredible excitement on BookMyShow for Coldplay’s Music of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India. With 13 million fans eager to get tickets and log in, emotions ran high, some celebrating while most others were left disappointed,” a BookMyShow spokesperson told The Telegraph when asked about the controversy surrounding the ticket sales.

Things took a nasty turn when platforms like Viagogo listed the tickets at a price 20 times higher than BookMyShow soon after. Viagogo announced the resale of the standing (floor) tickets originally priced at ₹6,450 for ₹50,000 and above, while another seller quoted Level 2 tickets originally priced at ₹12,500 for ₹3,36,620 each. Some individuals too claimed to be in possession of tickets and offered to re-sell them at phenomenally high prices.

With the announcement by these websites, BookMyShow received severe backlash for an alleged ticket scam.

“At BookMyShow and BookMyShow Live, we’ve worked hard to ensure every fan had a fair chance to secure tickets, providing clear, step-by-step booking guides and maintaining transparent communication through all our official channels.

“We implemented a queueing system to manage the overwhelming demand and addressed issues caused by suspicious and malicious traffic within minutes, causing a brief delay, but ensuring minimal disruption for genuine fans. Due to the unprecedented demand, a third Mumbai show was added shortly thereafter, which also received a fantastic response. To those who got tickets, congratulations! For those who missed out, we understand your disappointment and are committed to bringing memorable entertainment experiences your way,” the BookMyShow spokesperson told this newspaper when asked about the scam claims, refusing to comment specifically on the allegations.

BookMyShow released an official statement on social media that stated: “It has come to our attention that unauthorised platforms are listing tickets for Coldplay’s Music of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India, both before and after the official sale. These tickets are invalid. Ticket scalping is illegal in India and punishable by law. Please don’t fall prey to this because you will be buying fake tickets.” The statement was followed by a tagline that said “AVOID SCAMS!”

Netizens are fuming over how the market is dominated by corruption with fake users and unscrupulous platforms depriving genuine fans. The fans criticised BookMyShow for their “awful user experience”.

Fans tweeted and took to Instagram and other social media platforms to fiercely voice their criticism of the situation. Some used humour and punned on the lyrics of Coldplay’s famous track Fix You. One of the comments said: “This is what Coldplay meant when they said, ‘If you try your best and you don’t succeed’.”