Some select tickets for this week's Coldplay concerts in Abu Dhabi are still available to buy online, The National has discovered.
On Ticketmaster, some select tickets are seemingly still available for the four shows, which take place on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday at Zayed Sports City Stadium.
On Wednesday morning, The National attempted to look for tickets for Thursday’s gig. There was no queue and we were able to get through to the purchasing stage with two lower restricted-view seats available for Dh1,529. We also tried again with reserved seating and were able to get a single ticket for Dh764.50.
Concertgoers will receive their tickets 72 hours in advance, so those heading to the show on Thursday will have had tickets available from 8pm on Monday.
With such high anticipation for the gigs, many people who have attempted to purchase tickets from third-party sites or off of social media have fallen to scams.
Coldplay’s Abu Dhabi concerts are strictly digital events, with all tickets accessible only via the Ticketmaster app or website. They are non-transferable through third-party sites, meaning Ticketmaster is the best bet for getting to one of the four shows.
Fans were in long online queues to score tickets to the highly coveted Music of the Spheres showcase when they originally went on sale in September, and many were left disappointed.
Those lucky enough to get infinity tickets, priced at just Dh74 and providing a random location in any section across the venue – regardless of their original price – cannot be resold. They must also be picked up at the venue on the day of the event.
Demand for the show has been high. Some Coldplay fans who were intent on securing tickets but missed out on the original sale were able to get their hands on them via Yas Island's Coldplay Packages. These deals included a minimum three-night stay in a hotel, plus tickets for the performance on either Sunday or Tuesday evening.
Hotels on Yas Island, including Yas Plaza and Hilton Abu Dhabi at Yas Bay, were part of the deal, as well as several off-island properties, including those on Saadiyat Island. Rates started from Dh3,834 for two adults at Crowne Plaza Yas Island. Top-end packages included a stay at Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, where the three-night package cost Dh18,883 for two adults and two concert tickets.
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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