Photo ID for gigs
Tuesday, 19 February 2008 12:00 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
Photo ID may be required to get into music and sporting events under government plans unveiled today.
A consultation paper will praise schemes where punters can only pick up two tickets for gigs and shows per person. The buyer will then have to prove their identity at the door with a photo ID.
Policy makers are thought to have been impressed by a similar scheme adopted by Tom Waits during concerts in Edinburgh and Dublin last summer.
Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "Real efforts are being made by some event organisers to thwart the touts and ensure as many tickets as possible go straight to real fans.
"But most of the time, tickets go to whoever is quickest online on the day they go on sale - and too much of the time, that is touts who simply want to resell at a profit."
Sections of the paper call for an expansion of the exchange schemes implemented by Chelsea and Manchester United football clubs whereby fans can sell on tickets they can no longer use.
The plans stop short of the stringent action many in the entertainment industry wanted.
Some were calling for a complete ban on ticket resale in a bid to end touting all together.
The industry is particularly concerned by the use of eBay to buy bulk tickets and then sell them on individually at inflated prices.
Other measures proposed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport include the establishment of a trade body to oversee a code of principle for ticketing.
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