After Ed Sheeran performed a tiny gig at Whelan's in Dublin for VH1 Storytellers, the venue had to issue an apology after over 100 fans were left outside.
As previously reported, Sheeran played the gig on 24 January as part of the newly rebooted VH1 Storytellers, during which he performed stripped down versions of 'Don't', 'Sing' and 'Thinking Out Loud' and Don McLean's 'Vincent', as well as explaining the meanings behind each track.
However, the venue has to issue a statement on their Facebook after fans complained about not being let in. Reports that over over 70,000 had applied for tickets to a venue that only held a capacity of 400 was bound to cause problems, with Whelan's seemingly been held accountable for ticketing problem that weren't their own.
The central problem appears to be the confusion of whether the primary purpose was a secret gig (hence abiding by regular ticketing) or a TV studio appearance (with first come, first served ticketing and VIP access). Comments from fans ranged from "Everything about this has been a complete and utter shambles" to "It's like stealing candy from a baby but much worse."
The venue said on Facebook: "We can understand peoples' disappointment at receiving an eTicket for the Ed Sheeran show, then to find there were no spaces left. We want you to know that all the ticketing for this event is handled by ApplauseStore.com, specialists in television event ticketing, for such shows inc. the likes of the X Factor and Top Gear etc.
It is common practice for all TV productions worldwide to oversubscribe as a percentage of people who apply for tickets, simply don’t turn up. It was very clear early on in the process that this television event was no ordinary show and that the no-shows were likely to be minimal and any oversubscription were to be kept to an absolute minimum, which Applause did."
"Anyone that didn’t receive a wristband yesterday were then dealt with at the time by the Applause Store Managers and offered the chance to receive guaranteed entrance tickets to another television show in the future. For those who received an official eTicket, it did state in the terms and conditions that the event would be oversubscribed and that wristband allocation wouldbe served on a first come, first served basis and all subject to availability. We know this mean’s little to the few that were left out and we would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused. We have accommodated most of the people with special wristbands to a live screening in our front bar."
Watch the video for Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' below:
2014 saw Sheeran's success once again skyrocket, with his second album X seeing critical acclaim and huge sales, prompting the singer to add two more nights to his run of shows at the 80,000 capacity stadium due to phenomenal demand.
View the full list of Sheeran's live dates below. Buy tickets here.
10 July 2015 - Wembley Stadium, London
11 July 2015 - Wembley Stadium, London
12 July 2015 - Wembley Stadium, London
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