Ed Sheeran concert tickets will be printed with buyers' names to fight scalpers

Ticket verification measures will be carried out at Ed Sheeran's concert here next year to prevent touting or victims falling to scams.

Fans who buy tickets will have their names printed on the tickets, which will then be subjected to identification checks at the entrance of the National Stadium, where the English superstar will perform on April 26.

Tickets, priced between $68 and $248, go on sale from today via Sports Hub Tix.

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Authorisation letters are required if fans are buying tickets for other people.

A spokesman for organiser Lushington Entertainments told The New Paper: "The purchaser can put their names on multiple tickets if they are buying for their friends or family.

"However, an authorisation letter must be produced to state that the ticket was purchased on behalf of someone else."

The move was requested by Sheeran, who is known for taking an aggressive stance against ticket touts.

The 27-year-old reportedly cancelled more than 10,000 tickets for his Manchester concert in May after his management identified purchases by known touts.

Tickets listed for resale on sites like online ticket resale marketplace Viagogo were also cancelled.

Fans who bought tickets at vastly inflated prices, often from these sites, were given assistance in claiming refunds and getting genuine tickets.

More than £240,000 (S$427,000) were reportedly returned to fans who bought invalid tickets.

Last year, The Straits Times reported that tickets for Sheeran's two November gigs at the Singapore Indoor Stadium were listed for more than $13,000 each on an online ticket marketplace, more than 50 times the original price.

The Grammy winner, known for hits Thinking Out Loud, Lego House and Shape Of You, first performed here in 2015 at The Star Theatre.

Lushington Entertainments added that this is not the first time that such security measures have been put in place.

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Similar security measures were also put in place for One Direction pop star Harry Styles' concert at The Star Theatre last November.

Meanwhile, police have issued an advisory on online purchase scams involving the sales of concert tickets, in anticipation of upcoming gigs by K-pop boy band BTS, Mandopop star Wang Leehom and Sheeran.

Between January and June this year, police received at least 85 reports of e-commerce scams involving the sale of concert tickets. Victims either did not receive the tickets or received fake or invalid tickets after payments were made.

On Tuesday, The New Paper reported fans were queuing for BTS concert tickets five days before sales started as they fear soaring prices due to scalpers.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.