Australian YouTube twink turned singer-songwriter, actor, homeware and fragrance brand owner and model Troye Sivan has added a second Sydney show to his Australian tour.
Pre-sale tickets for the pop superstar's Something to To Give Each Other tour went on sale on Thursday but quickly sold out.
Vodafone, Mastercard and Opera House members were all given pre-sale ticket access, which ended up being spoiled by the artist himself. As tickets went on sale, Sivan took to Instagram to give people the unique code – also sent to members of his own email list – for access to the pre-sale.
"These Australia shows, the pre-sale went live one hour ago and there's a chance that the shows are going to sell out on the pre-sale code, which … would be the most insane f—ed thing that's ever happened," Sivan said on Thursday morning.
"So now I'm tempted – because the pre-sale code got sent to the people who asked for the pre-sale code, like, an hour ago – … to just tell you what the pre-sale code is, so that this just… let's just get this done; let's just sell it out. Sorry, I feel really manic. The pre-sale code is 'aplacebackinaus' all lowercase."
As this unfolded, a longer queue to buy the tickets began to form, with people reporting they were unable to secure tickets. In some cases, like on the Opera House website, users were told they were successful at getting to the front of the queue but were then redirected to a "no performance found" message.
To respond to the demand, Sivan has now added a second show at the Sydney Opera House's forecourt for Friday, November 29.
Some fans complained to Gay Sydney News that the more expensive "collector ticket" was either the pre-selected or first option on the Ticketmaster website, and that they only realised they had selected the higher-priced ticket until after they completed the checkout process.
Pre-sale collector tickets were $189.25 plus booking fees, while standard tickets were $168.87 plus fees. Early entry VIP tickets started from $352.37 plus fees.
Ticketmaster told Gay Sydney News that anyone with complaints regarding the collector ticket should contact its fan support team.
Another complaint from fans was the high price of the tickets. Tickets for the singer’s shows in Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London were priced at £47.10 to £69.80 ($A90 – $A133).
Glass Animals, Tones and I and Crowded House are all performing at the Opera House forecourt on the days adjacent to Sivan's Sydney concert dates . Glass Animals is charging $160 for a standard ticket, Tones and I's cheapest ticket is $109 and Crowded House's is $168.
While Sivan is charging more, the singer has had a stellar year, with his album Something To Give Each Other earning two Grammy nominations, four ARIA awards and attracting 250 million album streams.
Unfortunately for people in Perth, where Sivan grew up, there is no update about any potential shows in the city beyond the Australian artist responding to an upset fan's Instagram comment with: "I'm not saying there's more shows that haven't been announced yet but chill on me for a sec."
Tour promoter Live Nation told GSN there was no news on the Perth front.
Tickets to all shows, including the new Sydney date, go on sale to the general public on July 16 at 12pm AEST. The Live Nation pre-sale begins July 15 at 11am.
Eliot Hastie is a senior news producer at Channel Ten, reporting on a range of general stories, specialising in foreign affairs and LGBTQ+ stories. He’s also a reporter for Gay Sydney News, where he covers LGBTQIA+ culture, politics and nightlife. He previously helped to build and launch ausbiz, Australia's only live streaming finance news channel, where he was also an executive producer and host. He has previously worked as a finance and business journalist for publications including Fintech Business, Real Estate Business and other Momentum Media titles. Eliot holds a journalism degree from the University of Westminster and brings experience in both broadcast and digital reporting. Contact Eliot: [email protected]
Ben Grubb is the founder and editor of Gay Sydney News, an independent publication covering LGBTQIA+ news. A journalist with more than 15 years' experience, he has reported and edited for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAToday, Brisbane Times, The Australian Financial Review, News.com.au, ZDNet, TelecomTimes and iTnews, primarily on the topic of technology. He previously hosted The Informer, a queer current affairs program on Melbourne’s JOY 94.9 radio station, and contributes to LGBTQIA+ media including Stun Magazine. Ben has also appeared as a technology commentator on Channel Ten's The Project, ABC RN’s Download This Show and commercial radio stations 2UE, 2GB and 6PR. Contact Ben: [email protected]
