Ticket chaos leaves thousands stranded outside Ed Sheeran’s gig at the MCG

Thousands of people were reportedly left stranded outside the venue in Melbourne after the Ticketek app failed to recognise their tickets.

Ed Sheeran fans have been left fuming after ticket chaos outside his concert at the MCG.

Thousands of people were reportedly left stranded outside the stadium in Melbourne after the Ticketek app failed to recognise people’s online tickets.

Some people were unable to prove they had bought tickets thanks to an app glitch.

Hey @Ticketek_AU your system has crashed AGAIN

Thousands outside the @MCC_Members@MCG

Not able to access their tickets

You have failed again at a major event

— Lachie Buszard (@Lachiebuzz) March 2, 2023

@Ticketek_AU ummm this is for Ed Sheeran tomorrow night.. anyone else having the same issue pic.twitter.com/zgx8ZdihJq

— Jenna Carr (@JL_Carr86) March 2, 2023

The only gate open and working was the MCC stand, the Herald Sun reported, where fans were made to queue for paper tickets.

Some shared screenshots of the app online, with the on-screen warning: “This ticket is no longer active.”

One fan wrote: “Hey Ticketek your system has crashed AGAIN. Thousands outside the MCG not able to access their tickets. You have failed again at a major event.”

Ed Sheeran playing at the MCG. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Another wrote: “What a deplorable disaster making people queue for paper tickets. Splitting up families.”

More than 105,000 tickets were sold for Sheeran’s show on Thursday night, an Australian record.

That will be beaten again on Friday, when 107,000 people will attend his gig.

Inside Thursday night’s concert, Sheeran paid tribute to his late friend Shane Warne,saying it was difficult to be in Melbourne without him.

“I know he’s got a stand here and this venue was really special to him,” Sheeran said, after dedicating his song The A Team to the cricket legend.

Sheeran met Warne’s children Brooke, Summer and Jackson backstage before the show.

Earlier this week, Sheeran has told how his wife had a tumour last year that could only be treated after the birth of their second child.

The singer, 32, revealed how a series of life changing events in February 2022 altered the course of his new album Subtract, which he announced will be out in May.

Revellers take a selfie at Sheeran’s gig. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Ed explained: “I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be.

“Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.

“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out.

“And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.

“Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth.

“My best friend Jamal [Edwards], a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.

“I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.”

Ed continued: “As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life.

“This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.

“This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”

More to come.