Tickets for popular music and sports events listed for inflated prices on Viagogo and Stubhub

Tickets for popular music and sports events are being touted on unauthorised resale sites, Viagogo and StubHub International, at inflated prices – even before the events have sold out.

Which? found tickets listed for hugely inflated prices for a range of upcoming gigs, festivals and sports events, some of which explicitly prohibit tickets being sold through these secondary ticketing sites.

Fans who buy from sellers using these sites risk paying higher prices and could be refused entry.

Following a government consultation into the ticketing industry, Which? is calling for a price cap on resale tickets and tougher enforcement.

Tickets for popular gigs listed for eight times the face value price

Tickets for gigs and festivals are rife on Viagogo and StubHub International, despite many event organisers prohibiting the resale of tickets on these sites.

Resale tickets are often listed for steep prices even when face-value tickets via the primary ticket seller site (such as Ticketmaster) are still available.

Which? found tickets for Reading Festival listed at £596 on Viagogo and £616 on StubHub International, despite face-value tickets (costing £325) still being available through the official ticket agents.

Tickets for an upcoming IDLES gig in Bristol cost £59.65 at face value and were still available to buy via the primary ticket seller. But on Viagogo, we found ticket listed for as much as £480 – eight times the face value price.

Concerningly, it’s all too easy to find yourself buying from a secondary ticketing site instead of the official ticket partners. Secondary ticket sites often appear at the top of the Google search results when looking for tickets, meaning fans may not realise they're not buying through the official ticket seller.

• Read more: Which? calls for a price cap on resale tickets and tougher enforcement

Sports events listed for higher prices

Tickets for sports events can also be found listed at above face value on Viagogo and StubHub International.

Which? found Royal Ascot tickets listed on Viagogo for £150 to £154, and on StubHub International for £96, despite the fact that tickets were still available on the official website for just £34.

Royal Ascot told us tickets may only be bought or allocated by an authorised source approved by Ascot Racecourse, and that Viagogo and StubHub International are not approved sources.

Similarly, tickets for the 2025 British Grand Prix were listed on StubHub International for £181, while face value tickets were still available on the Silverstone website for £159.

On the ticket listing page, StubHub International included a disclaimer stating ticket resales are restricted for this event and that your ticket may not be valid for entry, but that this was ‘unlikely’.

Silverstone, however, confirmed to us that fans attempting to use a ticket at the gate that hasn’t been purchased directly from an official ticket agent run the risk of being refused entry.

It added that tickets sold for profit-making without its consent will be void and that holders of void tickets may be refused entry to the event with no refund.

'We didn't realise how inflated the prices were'

Sarah (not her real name) bought tickets listed on Viagogo for a sold-out Rammstein gig in Milton Keynes, paying around £120 per ticket.

She became concerned when the tickets arrived with someone else's name on them, as the event T&Cs stated that concertgoers needed to show ID matching the name on the ticket.

‘I contacted Viagogo for a refund, but they said I had to try to get in before they'd refund me,' Sarah said. 'The gig was a three-hour drive away – which is a long way to go just to be refused entry.'

Sarah spoke with the venue, which provided her with a letter that she then sent to Viagogo for a refund.

Ally’s husband purchased two tickets to see Pink in concert from a seller on Viagogo. He paid £400 for the two tickets, when the face value was around £40 each.

'He didn’t realise how inflated they were,' Ally told us. 'We didn’t end up going to the concert as I absolutely refused to spend that much money, so I put them back on the site to try and get some money back.'

'Resale sites often appear at the top of Google search results and it's not always clear that they aren’t the official selling site,' she added.

• Find out more: How to get a refund from a ticket seller

Which? calls for a price cap on resale tickets and tougher enforcement

The government has pledged to introduce stronger consumer protections for ticket purchases and is currently consulting on changes to ticket resales.

Which? is calling for a price cap to ensure that tickets can only be resold on secondary sites at the original price paid – the ticket’s face value plus any fees, which should be shown upfront in the ticket price.

This cap should apply across all events, including music, sports and theatre.

Which? also believes that resale platforms should be required by law to verify that the seller owns a ticket before it can be listed on their site, and that they should also verify key information about a ticket, such as the original price and location within the venue. They should also be responsible for preventing the resale of tickets when the primary seller has prohibited resale.

What do Viagogo and StubHub International say?

Viagogo told us that sellers set the price of tickets and fans ultimately decide the ticket value that meets their budget. Wildly inflated ticket listings prices are not likely to sell at any profit.

In Sarah's case, Viagogo told us that she did receive valid tickets in time for the event. As a gesture of goodwill, Viagogo issued Sarah a full refund and an additional voucher.

It also told us it follows all governing legislation, including making it clear that it's a reselling platform. It rejects any suggestion that it misleads users, and discloses the face value for every ticket, as well as disclosures to highlight all primary event restrictions.

StubHub International told us that as a marketplace, it doesn't set ticket prices, and that sellers list at their preferred price, allowing buyers to decide whether to purchase based on what they believe is worthwhile.

It says it ensures ticket and price transparency from the earliest stage of the purchase journey, and that tickets listed at exceptionally high prices rarely, if ever, sell.

Speculative listings are not allowed on StubHub International's platform, and its verification process ensures ticket validity.

In the rare instance of an issue, both Viagogo and StubHub have guarantees in place, providing replacement tickets or a full refund.