Barcelona City Council has signed an official declaration affirming its commitment to the fight against illegal ticket resale. The move was supported by all political groups across the Council, recognising the harm that illegal resale does to the creative industries and members of the public. Barcelona is believed to be the first city in the world to make a commitment of this kind.
Each year, Barcelona hosts more than a thousand concerts and live events at iconic venues including Palau Sant Jordi, Parc del Fòrum, Estadi Olímpic, Gran Teatre del Liceu, L’Auditori and Palau de la Música Catalana. With an estimated 3 million fans attending these events annually, Barcelona City Council has reaffirmed its commitment to fair and safe ticket resale to protect fans and culture.
Barcelona City Council paid special attention to ‘speculative ticketing’ in its declaration, where traders list tickets for resale before they have been purchased on the primary market. This leaves fans ‘burned’ when they receive a different ticket than expected, or don’t receive a ticket at all.
The declaration also states the city’s support for FEAT as a non-profit organisation formed to improve ticket resale across Europe, representing the interests of live event organisers, music promoters, venues, sports clubs and fans. In 2024 FEAT welcomed new local members, the legendary football club FC Barcelona and Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) who operate venues across the city. FEAT declared Barcelona as its “home city” at the start of 2024, and held its annual general meeting there in October.
In Europe, the ticket resale market is worth up to €3 bn annually, growing by about 10% a year. The market is driven by professional traders who use bots or other fraudulent methods to bulk-buy tickets, dramatically increase ticket prices, and often fail to list correct ticket information. Other anti-consumer practices include speculative ticketing, where traders advertise the sale of tickets not yet purchased, or offering tickets for concerts that have not yet gone on sale.
FEAT founding director & CEO of Doctor Music, Neo Sala, said “This declaration cements Barcelona as a city that supports and nurtures live entertainment, concerts and festivals. I am delighted that the Council agrees with FEAT’s aims and objectives, and we firmly welcome their support in the fight against illegal ticket resale”.