Warning over fake Brighton Pride tickets

Britney Spears is headlining Brighton Pride

Brighton Pride organisers warn that tickets bought through third-party websites will not be valid for the festival.

Tickets to Pride Festival in Preston Park quickly sold out after the announcement that Britney Spears would be headlining, and some prospective festival-goers headed to second-hand ticket sites in an attempt to attend the event.

But, on its official website, Brighton Pride said: “Do not purchase tickets from ticket touts or any third-party sites such as Viagogo or StubHub as they will not be valid.”

Tickets purchased through Pride carry the name of the customer who bought them, so ID is needed to exchange the tickets for wristbands and gain entry to the event.

If ID is not provided, entry will be refused, organisers said.

Despite this, tickets labelled ‘no ID needed’ are on sale online and some sites are charging over £200 for the sought-after items, more than five times the ticket’s original price.

A spokesperson for StubHub said: “As a fan first marketplace we are really disappointed on behalf of fans to learn that when these tickets first went on general release back in January, the promoter did not require named tickets. It was only later, after the tickets had sold out, that the promoter introduced this restriction. That’s why we posted an alert on our website advising that people may be required to show Photo ID on the door.

“StubHub strongly believes that people should have a right to transfer tickets, not least as their plans may change between buying tickets and an event itself. But when promoters introduce restrictions such as named tickets, it makes it harder for people to resell spare tickets or buy them for friends and family.

“StubHub provides a trusted and secure marketplace with every customer order covered by our FanProtect Guarantee which means StubHub will provide comparable or better replacement tickets or at least a full refund should there be any issues.”

The 2018 Brighton Pride event, taking place on this weekend (August 3-5), will see an estimated 400,000 people travel to the city for the annual celebration of the LGBTQI+ community.

On Saturday, the Pride Festival at Preston Park will see performances by Britney Spears, Ella Eyre, Louise Redknapp and Pixie Lott.

For more information on Pride tickets, visit: www.pride-tickets.org/pride-festival-tickets