Organisers of the tsunami-aid concert due to take place at Cardiff's
Millennium Stadium next week have hit out at people reselling their tickets to the sell out event on the internet. Paul Sergeant, manager of the Stadium, called the people reselling their tickets online "mercenaries".
All sixty thousand tickets for the fundraiser, which yesterday added
Stereophonics' Kelly Jones to a bill which already includes
Eric Clapton, Keane, Snow Patrol and the Manic Street Preachers, sold out within days of them going on sale, selling for £15
- £30 a piece. A BBC report says there are now more than
50 people selling tickets to the benefit on auction website eBay for up to £200 each. While some of those sellers say they will give any profit to the tsunami-aid charity, others don't mention what they plan to do with their mark up.
While admitting ticket touting was completely legal, Sergeant said he felt reselling tickets to a benefit concert for personal profit was immoral, adding: "If there is a way for me to identify who these individuals are and not issue tickets, then
I'll do it."
The boss of the organisation managing the tsunami-aid fundraising efforts in the UK, Brendan Gormley, also expressed his outrage at individuals possibly profiting from a benefit event: "I just think it's an absolute disgrace. I desperately feel that the people who are selling them feel sufficiently guilty to put every little profit they might get into the tins, to make sure that money goes to who it should go."
Meanwhile organisers of the event yesterday said they were examining whether they can manoeuvre extra capacity at the stadium for the fundraiser, as well as confirming that the BBC will screen the concert.