Peter Kay tickets: fans facing huge queues on Ticketmaster for his comeback UK tour

Peter Kay will set off on his first tour in 12 years
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Fans hoping to get tickets for Peter Kay’s upcoming UK tour are facing long queues to access Ticketmaster.

People on social media have reported the queues being 65,000, 67,000 and even over 100,000 long. It is the first time Peter Kay has toured since 2010.

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It comes after fans were left frustrated as O2 struggled to contend with the demand for the pre-sale on Thursday. The company said at the time that it was due to the “extraordinary demand” for tickets. It has now been announced that pre-sale tickets have sold out.

Peter Kay announced his first UK tour in 12 years during the Sunday (6 November) episode of I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. He had been due to tour in 2017 but cancelled the tour prior to its start.

The “Better Late Than Never” tour will start in Manchester in December and continue through 2023. Kay will play shows at arenas across the country including in Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and more.

Kay will also play one show a month at The O2 in London from December this year until next November. He confirmed the residency on BBC Radio 2 joking: “There’s basically been me and Prince who have done it and look what happened to him.”

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Tickets for Peter Kay’s 2022/ 2023 tour went on sale at 10am on Saturday. Here is all you need to know:

How long are the queues on Ticketmaster?

Social media users are reporting queues of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of people waiting to access tickets for the much anticipated tour. Peter Kay last toured the UK in 2010.

What did O2 said about the pre-sale?

In a post on social media, O2’s official account wrote on Thursday: “We’re seeing extraordinary demand for Peter Kay. We know customers are struggling to get on to our Priority website and app before 10am, we’re working on it. Please be patient, thank you.”

In a later update, O2 urged people to continue checking over the next 48 hours. A statement on Twitter said: “We’re seeing unprecedented demand for Peter Kay tickets & we know a lot of you can’t access Priority. Sorry, we’re working on it. Please be patient; this is by far the highest demand we’ve ever seen for Priority Tickets in 15 years. The presale lasts for 48h so keep checking”

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A Virgin Media O2 spokesman added: “We’ve seen unprecedented levels of visitors to our Priority platform for Peter Kay tickets. As a result, some customers are experiencing difficulties trying to use the app and website despite us putting additional resource in place to help cope with such demand. We apologise and we’re doing everything we can to get it back up and running as soon as possible.”

Peter Kay’s official account tweeted an apology from SJM Concerts for the disruption. The company promised that “substantial provision” has been put in place ahead of the general sale on the weekend.

Has the pre-sale sold out?

Virgin Media O2 announced that pre-sale tickets had sold out at 5.50pm on Thursday). It comes after the earlier disruption caused by the unprecident demand for Peter Kay tickets.

The company tweeted: “We’ve sold out our Priority Tickets for Peter Kay. We’ve seen extraordinary demand, our most popular presale ever. We’re sorry not all our customers were successful. General sale tickets for The O2 + UK arenas are released Saturday 10am. We wish everyone the best of luck! “

How have fans reacted?

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One person tweeted: “Am I really that bothered about Peter Kay? Website crashed and can’t see any chance of getting tickets. Joke.” Another added: “Anyone else trying to get Peter Kay tickets from @O2 priority? Website is literally broken for me hahaha, sickener.”

A person suggested the problem was more widespread than just O2 Priority. Writing: “Amazing work from o2 and viagogo this morning. nobody can access priority app or website except the touts. nice one”

Where are the shows on the tour?

Kay will begin his tour on 2 December at the Manchester AO Arena before visiting locations including Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Belfast, Newcastle, Glasgow and Dublin.

His run will end in November 2023 at The O2 in London. Peter Kay’s website has crashed from demand following the announcement on Sunday.

The full list of tour dates are as follows:

  • Friday 2 December - AO Arena, Manchester
  • Saturday 3 December - AO Arena, Manchester
  • Friday 16 December - The O2, London
  • Saturday 17 December - Utilita Arena, Birmingham
  • Friday 6 January - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
  • Saturday 7 January - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
  • Friday 20 January - First Direct Arena, Leeds
  • Saturday 21 January - The O2, London
  • Friday 17 February - Utilita Arena, Sheffield
  • Saturday 18 February - The O2, London
  • Thursday 23 February - SSE Arena, Belfast
  • Friday 24 February - SSE Arena, Belfast
  • Thursday 9 March - Utilita Arena, Newcastle
  • Friday 10 March - Utilita Arena, Newcastle
  • Wednesday 22 March - The O2, London
  • Thursday 23 March - Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
  • Thursday 6 April - 3Arena, Dublin
  • Friday 7 April - 3Arena, Dublin
  • Saturday 22 April - The O2, London
  • Friday 5 May - OVO Hydro, Glasgow
  • Saturday 6 May - OVO Hydro, Glasgow
  • Friday 19 May - First Direct Arena, Leeds
  • Saturday 20 May - The O2, London
  • Saturday 3 June - The O2 lONDON
  • Friday 16 June - Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
  • Saturday 17 June - Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
  • Friday 14 July - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
  • Saturday 15 July - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
  • Saturday 29 July - The O2, London
  • Friday 11 August - Utilita Arena, Sheffield
  • Wednesday 30 August - The O2, London
  • Saturday 9 September - The O2, London
  • Saturday 7 October - The O2, London
  • Saturday 18 November - The O2, London
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