Coldplay fans queue up at SingPost outlets islandwide for concert tickets: 'I feel so accomplished'

Gabrielle Chan, Suzanne Chan, Christine Siow, Rebekah Chia and Dillon Loh
The Straits Times
June 20, 2023

British band Coldplay have added a sixth show to the Singapore stop of its Music Of The Spheres world tour on Jan 31, announced promoters Live Nation on Facebook on Tuesday.

This comes after the promoters added an unprecedented fifth show on Monday, following the sale of more than 200,000 tickets for the band’s original four shows – on Jan 23, 24, 26, and 27 at the National Stadium – during pre-sales that same day.

Tickets for all six nights are sold out.

After failing to get tickets during pre-sales, barista Casey James decided to start queueing at SingPost’s Sengkang Community Centre outlet from midnight on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old and her friend were two out of 70 people in the queue on Tuesday morning, waiting for general sales to open at 10am.

She told The Straits Times that her experience with online pre-sales was unsuccessful, as her preferred tickets had sold out within a few hours.

Ms James, who went early to get a spot at the front of the queue, said that she had taken a nap before going.

She said: “It’s Coldplay, so I expected the queues to be long. But it’s worth it, because to see them live would be absolutely magical.”

Ms Casey James (right), 20, and her friend, after obtaining their preferred tickets for Coldplay in Singapore. ST PHOTO: SUZANNE CHAN

After getting tickets, the two were giggling with excitement as they walked out of SingPost.

“I feel so accomplished,” Ms James said.

“I am quite happy about the process, but I feel like it could have been improved, and it was tough to just stand around and wait. But I mean, it’s Coldplay, so it’s worth it,” she added.

Fans lined up at SingPost outlets islandwide on Tuesday morning to queue for tickets to Coldplay’s concert tickets after pre-sales on Monday sold out within five hours, with more than a million virtual queue numbers issued.

Many fans also faced technical issues, such as blank ticketing screens and getting kicked out of the queue.

At SingPost’s Ghim Moh outlet, people were queueing from 3am, two of which were husband and wife Balasupramaniam and Sharlot Lizardo.

Madam Sharlot said that she was looking to score tickets for her parents and siblings, all big fans of Coldplay.

“I’ve heard that they have a lot of energy and they’re known for a good performance, even their special effects,” said Madam Sharlot, 35.

Mr Balasupramaniam, 48, added: “They’re one of the bands we must watch, so we can tick that off our bucket list.”

He added that he felt hopeful at the Ghim Moh outlet as this was an “estate with more older folk” and expected demand to be less than at other outlets serving a higher number of younger residents.

The couple managed to obtain 12 category 1 tickets, each priced at $298, for a total of more than $3,500.

“We wanted to have our family sit together,” Madam Sharlot said, adding that she is happy and excited that she gets to watch the concert during her husband’s birthday month.

Fans at SingPost’s Ang Mo Kio outlet arrived at about 6am, with more than 40 people in the queue.

There were about 50 people at the SingPost Ang Mo Kio Central Post Office at around 9.30am on June 20. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

Ms Jamie Foo, 31, who gave up on Ticketmaster after getting kicked out twice yesterday, decided to try her luck queueing in person.

“It was really frustrating that, despite my best efforts and following instructions on the website, it just doesn’t work for me,” said the senior manager at an American multinational corporation, who took leave just to queue for the tickets on Tuesday.

After three hours of queueing, Ms Foo managed to obtain four category 1 tickets. She said: “I am mostly relieved and today made me realise that the manual option still works the best.”

Ms Jamie Foo decided to try her luck queueing in person at SingPost’s Ang Mo Kio outlet. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

Nineteen-year-old Elsa Tan, who was queueing at SingPost’s Toa Payoh outlet, said that she arrived at 5am with two friends after sleeping for only three hours.

Technology analyst Alex Gazza, 35, who was also in the Toa Payoh queue of more than 28 people, said that he took urgent leave from work to queue for tickets on Tuesday after failing to score any during the pre-sale.

Those in line at some SingPost outlets received forms allowing them to fill out their personal details, how many tickets they would be purchasing and to rank their preferred categories.

Online, nearly a million virtual queue numbers were issued on Tuesday and tickets for the first four dates of the show were sold out by 11.45am.

Fans lined up at SingPost outlets islandwide on Tuesday morning to queue for tickets to Coldplay’s concerts. ST PHOTOS: REBEKAH CHIA

Forms to fill out their personal details, how many tickets they would be purchasing and to rank their preferred categories. ST PHOTO: REBEKAH CHIA

Mr Lex Pang, 23, and his girlfriend Nikki Pang, 24, tried their luck online on both days, but were unable to obtain tickets.

Ms Pang, a digital marketing executive, said that by the time she managed to enter the ticketing website on Tuesday for general sales, the shows were sold out.

“It seemed like they did not allocate enough for general sales,” she said, adding that website issues had caused her to be kicked out of the queue on both days.

Mr Pang, a student, said he wanted to get tickets this time as he had been unable to do so when the rock band last came to Singapore in 2017.

The couple eventually secured their tickets with the help of a family member who had queued since 7am at SingPost’s Simpang Bedok outlet.

Coldplay’s six-show run in Singapore for their Music Of The Spheres World Tour puts the Republic on par with countries such as England (six shows) and Mexico (seven shows). Argentina and Brazil had 10 and 11 shows respectively.

Organisers Live Nation said on Tuesday that Coldplay are the first act to play six nights at Singapore’s National Stadium.

The band’s 2017 Singapore show saw them rock the National Stadium over two nights.

Formed in London in 1997, Coldplay have released a string of hits over the years, such as Yellow, Viva La Vida, A Sky Full Of Stars, and Higher Power.