As noon approaches, my slightly sweaty hand hovers over the mouse. I will myself to stay calm and wait. I&rsquo;d been here before. I hadn&rsquo;t succeeded then, but this time had to be different, right? Right.
My panicked mind flashes back to September 22, when I&rsquo;d tried&mdash;and failed&mdash;to get tickets to the Coldplay concert in Navi Mumbai. The British band had announced two concerts at Navi Mumbai&rsquo;s DY Patil Stadium (January 18&ndash;19), the India leg of their &lsquo;Music of the Spheres&rsquo; world tour. Excited at the prospect of experiencing Coldplay live, I&rsquo;d cleared my whole afternoon and joined the virtual queue on the BookMyShow app in anticipation.
But the app had different plans.&nbsp;
Every time I tried to purchase tickets, it threw me out, forcing me back to the end of the line. How was I supposed to book these tickets if I couldn&rsquo;t get to the payment option? Angry and frustrated after multiple attempts, I stormed out looking for fresh air to clear my head, mourning the death of my Coldplay dreams.
Hope returned when Coldplay announced a January 25 concert in Ahmedabad&mdash;my very own city. I thanked the gods for not letting me book the Mumbai concert tickets. Spared the added expense of travelling across state lines, I vowed to get better seats than I&rsquo;d originally planned.
Noon on November 16 inches closer. I&rsquo;m at my desk, waiting in a queue for Coldplay tickets&mdash;determined to make it to the concert, since the band is being kind enough to visit my hometown.&nbsp;
The seconds tick by.
I wipe my hands again. Time slows.&nbsp;
In a flash, my heart soars. It&rsquo;s here! My It&rsquo;s my turn! I pump my fist in the air and attempt to select my seats.&nbsp;
D&eacute;j&agrave; vu. I can&rsquo;t get past the seat selection page. The app has betrayed me again. My heart sinks.&nbsp;
Then the anger and frustration from two months ago return. Friends call to commiserate. No one I speak to has managed to get the elusive tickets.&nbsp;
Barely 45 minutes after tickets to the January 25 concert went on sale, Coldplay&mdash;whose silence on the issue has been deafening&mdash;announces a second Ahmedabad concert.&nbsp;
The January 26 show will also be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The stadium has a seating capacity of one lakh. So, two concerts, at a venue which can seat a lakh each day, sold out in one afternoon. Where did all those concert tickets go? I&rsquo;d just wanted two. Why am I being deprived?
When thousands of people complained that the app had simply skipped in-queue users trying to buy tickets to the Mumbai shows, BookMyShow called it a technical glitch. Surely, two months was enough time to fix a glitch, wasn&rsquo;t it?
News reports in September suggested that several of those who did manage to buy tickets to Coldplay&rsquo;s Mumbai shows purchased 10&ndash;20 tickets and resold them in the black market for a bundle. The company reacted to charges of a rigged lottery by filing a counter-lawsuit and urging fans not to buy tickets third-party sites.&nbsp;
Is the universe just being cruel, denying me a dream I&rsquo;ve had for most of my adult life?
Or, is it a scam&mdash;is BookMyShow complicit? And why haven&rsquo;t Chris Martin and co. not said anything on the issue? Surely, they owe their Indian fans&mdash;at least this one&mdash;an apology of some kind.

Coldplay is currently on their ‘Music of The Spheres’ world tour

Tickets to the British band’s Ahmedabad concerts sold out in one afternoon, and I couldn’t get any

How Coldplay Broke My Heart, Twice In One Year

Tickets to the British band’s Ahmedabad concerts sold out in one afternoon, and I couldn’t get any

November 16, 2024 | 17:34 IST