By Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com 6:00 am Mar 22, 2023, updated 6:49 am Mar 22, 2023
- Music lovers are complaining about the high cost of concert tickets in the United States, with Beyoncé’s show of particular concern
- A fan from Dallas, Texas said she went to Stockholm to see the show and still saved money, even including the flight
- Fans of Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran and Pink can also find significantly cheaper tickets in Europe, according to analysis by DailyMail.com
Music lovers complain that concert ticket prices in the United States are now so high that it’s cheaper to buy a plane ticket and see the show in Europe.
Beyoncé fan Mercedes Arielle, from Dallas, revealed on Instagram that she saved money by booking a flight to Stockholm to see the Renaissance tour instead of buying a ticket in her hometown.
And Beyonce isn’t the only musician whose shows in Europe are dramatically cheaper than those in the United States. Analysis by DailyMail.com showed that the same amount of tickets for Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Pink and Ed Sheeran can be found in Europe at huge discounts this summer.
“Beyoncé is a ministry,” Arielle said, explaining the effort she went to to get tickets.
She told the Washington Post, “When I think about the things she says in her music about experiencing joy and celebrating black women? She made us feel empowered and capable and strong and worthy.
Arielle told NBC News she bought VIP tickets to the show in Stockholm for $366 while her friends in Dallas spent $900.
Mercedes Arielle from Dallas shared her tips on how to get European tickets to the show that Beyoncé sees on stage in Pasadena in July 2018. Their European shows are significantly cheaper than their US shows. Tickets for Beyonce’s show in Stockholm are available for SEK 2,325. or $225 The same ticket is $822 on August 9 in Charlotte, North Carolina
She said she was so close to the stage, ‘Beyoncé is going to sweat on me. I’m that close.”
Arielle, whose Instagram account offers tips to “hack luxury by any means necessary,” said she uses travel loyalty card points to pay for her hotel.
Another Beyoncé fan, Kylyn Schnelle, 28, of Louisville, Kentucky, said tickets to the show in her hometown are available on resale sites for over $800.
Schnell told NBC News that she searched online and found tickets in London and a flight, with the trip costing the same as visiting the singer in Kentucky.
“When I checked in London it was £167 [about $200]and the flight was about $660,” she said.
“I thought that’s really the same price.”
Swift’s best friend lives in London, so, she said, it took “very little to convince her” to go.
“If you’re spending $800, why not milk as much as you can?” She said.
The tactic used by Arielle and Schnelle could save music lovers thousands – especially if they’re using airline points or have already booked their tickets to Europe.
Tickets for Beyoncé’s show in the Swedish capital of Stockholm on May 10 are currently on sale for 2,325 kroner or $225.
The same type of ticket costs $822 in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 9.
Coveted front-of-stage tickets offer the biggest savings.
Seeing Madonna up close in London on October 15 costs £1,505 or $1,838.
The same ticket at Madison Square Garden on August 23 is $828 more expensive at $2,666.
Madonna can be seen on stage in New York in June 2022. Tickets to see Madonna front and center in London on October 15 cost £1,505 or US$1,838. The same tickets — front row — at Madison Square Garden are $2,666
Seeing Bruce Springsteen in his home state of New Jersey will cost you $537 when he performs on April 14th.
However, if you are in Copenhagen, the same ticket tier costs 666 kroner or $96.
A general admission ticket to the Ed Sheeran Chicago tour stop, which is in front of the multiple stages, will cost you $149 on July 29th.
For those in the Scottish city of Glasgow, the same general admission price is £90 or $109.
Fans of pink in Poland will save hundreds of dollars compared to their US counterparts.
On July 16 in Warsaw you can see pink for 550 zlotys or $126.
In Chicago, however, her August 12 show is priced at $618.
Both Pink tickets are for their Summer Carnival Tour, which begins in London in June and arrives in North America on July 24th.
Seeing ‘The Boss’ in his home state costs $537 for tickets Similar tickets in Copenhagen cost Springsteen fans just 666 kronor or $96 Bruce Springsteen tours with his band for the first time in six years Ed Sheeran fans pay around $40 less in Glasgow than in Chicago Poland costs 550 zlotys or 126 dollars, in Chicago it is 618 dollars
The wildly different prices are just the latest headache for music lovers still furious over the Ticketmaster debacle when Taylor Swift’s shows went on sale.
The site kept crashing, and fans spent days waiting online to no avail.
In July, Bruce Springsteen’s fans faced similar website difficulties and outrageous prices when Ticketmaster activated its “dynamic pricing” model for tickets to his current arena tour — his first with the entire E-Street Band since 2017.
Members of Congress launched an investigation in the fall, accusing Ticketmaster of running a monopoly and not caring about its customers.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the US Senate Consumer Rights Committee, said Ticketmaster is responsible for 70 percent of US ticket sales
“In truth there is no other choice. It’s a monopoly,” she told MSNBC last year.
The Ticketmaster boss apologized to Swift and her fans during a US Senate hearing in January.
“We have to do better and we will,” said Joe Berchtold, president of Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company.
A bot attack was responsible for “a terrible consumer experience,” he said.