Coldplay, BookMyShow both involved in black marketing of tickets for concert: NCP-SP leader Jitendra Awhad

NCP-SP leader Jitendra Awhad has accused popular rock band Coldplay and ticketing platform Bookmyshow of being involved in “black marketing” of concert tickets. The remarks came even as the Mumbai Police issued fresh summons to company CEO Ashish Hemrajani.

“The organisers of Coldplay and the owner of the BookMyShow both are involved in this black marketing of the tickets for the concert...Playing with the emotions of the youths is not a good thing,” he told reporters on Monday.

“It is a planned conspiracy to earn money. The organisers and the company selling the tickets are all associated with this conspiracy. How is it possible that all tickets were sold in barely a minute? The Mumbai Police will bust all of this soon, and the head of the conspiracy will be in jail. Whoever is involved in this matter should be in jail. We will not allow any black marketing in the state,” BJP leader Ram Kadam had assured earlier this week.

The British band is slated to perform three shows in Mumbai next year as part of an Asia tour. Controversy had erupted earlier this month after tickets sold out out within minutes and left hundreds of thousands of fans disappointed. Tickets had soon appeared on social media platforms and reseller sites — with many up to 30 or 40 times the original price.

An investigation was initiated following a complaint by Advocate Amit Vyas accusing the ticketing platform of facilitating the black marketing of tickets for the highly anticipated Coldplay concert scheduled to be held on January 18, 19 and 21, 2025, at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The company said in a statement on X last week that it had nothing to do with platforms that resell tickets, and warning fans that tickets sold on the secondary market can be fake.

(With inputs from agencies)