Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has received more than 100 complaints from concertgoers over obstructed views at Coldplay’s recent shows in the city.
The Consumer Council said the number of complaints related to blocked views at the four-night concert series reached 114 by 5pm on Wednesday.
Gilly Wong Fung-han, the organisation’s chief executive, said the cost of the tickets involved in the complaints was typically HK$2,099 (US$270) per person, with the complainants largely falling into two categories.
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“One group were not told that their views were obstructed when purchasing their tickets ... but when they checked their tickets closer to the performance, they found out that they had ‘obstructed views’ written on them, so they feel they were scammed or that something was omitted,” she told a radio programme.
“Another group were aware when they bought the tickets that their views would be obstructed as it was stated on their tickets, but when they got to the venue, they realised the obstruction was much more serious than they imagined.”
Coldplay performed four shows at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium between April 8 and 12, with organisers saying about 200,000 people attended.
But some concertgoers started taking to social media after the first show to complain about the seating arrangements, arguing their vantage points had been blocked or obstructed much more than expected.
“The Consumer Council will deal with the relevant cases according to its established procedures and notify complainants about their case’s progress and its results,” a spokesman for the watchdog said.
Wong said the council had been in touch with both the ticketing platform for the event and the show organiser to pass them the cases, adding it would discuss with them how to handle the complaints.
She advised concert organisers to be more transparent about seating arrangements, and urged them to not only tell consumers whether their views would be obstructed, but also the extent of any such blockage.
“Customers can then make a judgment on whether they should use their money to buy a ticket,” Wong said.
On Saturday, Cityline said it was alerted to two such complaints but had determined that the customers were informed of the blocked views when they bought the tickets.
It added that it had already approached the complainants to explain the circumstances and pledged to offer more help if needed.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Coldplay’s Chris Martin shares how he stays ‘grateful, happy’ with Hong Kong fans
- 3 arrested over fraud after watching Coldplay concert in Hong Kong without tickets
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