Lady Gaga Singapore presales attract 1m+ fans

More than 1.6 million fans attempted to secure tickets for Lady Gaga’s Singapore shows according to local media.

The superstar will return to the island state this spring for the first time in 13 years with a four-night stand at National Stadium.

The 18, 19, 21 and 24 May shows are the star’s only confirmed concerts in Asia and are expected to draw more than 200,000 local and international fans.

Pre-sales opened on Tuesday morning for Mastercard cardholders with queue numbers soon going well above 1.6 million.

Fans battled for tickets in the Mastercard pre-sale on 18 March and within 10 minutes the queue reached over a million people.

Ticket prices on the official ticketing platform, Ticketmaster, ranged from S$148 to S$368 for general admission and S$648 to S$1,348 for VIP packages.

As noted in the International Ticketing Report 2024, ticket scalping is not illegal in Singapore

New Straits Times noted that minutes after pre-sales kicked off, VIP tickets priced up to S$38,888 appeared on the online marketplace Carousell while tickets priced up to $12,000 (€8,200) appeared on Viagogo and StubHub.

Scalpers also took advantage of Taylor Swift’s six Eras Tour shows at National Stadium, selling tickets up to 10 times the original price.

Ticket scalping is not illegal in Singapore, as noted in the International Ticketing Report 2024. The Consumers Association of Singapore has raised concerns that scalping could lead to price distortion and make tickets unaffordable for many.

However, terms and conditions on tickets mean if a concert organiser discovers that a ticket-buyer has resold their ticket, they can seize or void it without providing a refund. Ticketmaster has taken steps to combat and curb this malpractice in the form of its Resale scheme.

Mega gigs from the likes of Swift, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran helped drive tourism in Singapore to record heights last year.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.