The agreement makes the Palau Sant Jordi and the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys the first major events venues in Europe to join the European initiative to prevent irregular ticket sales
On Thursday, the Anella Olímpica formally joined the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), the European organisation that brings together promoters and operators from the culture sector to combat the resale of tickets at inflated prices. The agreement makes the Palau Sant Jordi and the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys the first major events venues in Europe to join the European initiative.
Since its creation in 2019, FEAT has promoted a number of Europe-wide initiatives to encourage the introduction of laws that protect fans and promoters. The organisation has also headed information campaigns to encourage members of the public to buy their tickets from secure sales channels and to warn them of the dangers of buying tickets through unauthorised resale channels, where they might be sold at a much higher price and where they might even be sold fake tickets.
Currently, 69% of tickets that are resold in Spain are sold at inflated prices, according to figures from FEAT.
The director of the Anella Olímpica, Carme Lanuza, says that “the resale of tickets has a direct impact on the venues and, through our alliance with FEAT, we are reaffirming our commitment to offering unique and secure public experiences. It is essential that all agents in the sector join forces to put an end to this practice”.
For his part, the founding director of FEAT and CEO of Doctor Music, Neo Sala, says that “the Anella Olímpica venues are a hugely important part of Barcelona's cultural ecosystem and they attract major artists from all over the world to the city. It’s great news that they are getting involved in FEAT’s mission to combat the resale of tickets at inflated prices and that they are working to protect fans from the abusive practices of ticket touts.
Now that it has joined FEAT, the Anella Olímpica will be working with live events professionals from all over Europe who form part of the alliance to promote the ethical, transparent and fair sale of tickets and to combat the resale of tickets at vastly inflated prices through unauthorised channels.
Protocols to combat ticket touting
The Anella Olímpica has protocols in place to identify unauthorised tickets at the events it hosts and to support those affected by it. When they identify tickets that are fake or have been bought through unauthorised channels, the professionals at the venue provide the visitors with access to the complaints service and advise them on how to make their complaint.
With more than 160 events held and 2.1 million visitors in 2023, the Palau Sant Jordi and the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys are leading venues for European cultural and sports events and they play a key role in positioning Barcelona as a major events city.
