It’s been less than two weeks since Sam Fender announced his UK tour and some lucky fans have already bagged tickets in the pre-sale.
Sam, 30, is heading on his People Watching tour in December 2024, with dates in Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, and London all announced.
He is also performing a huge homecoming gig in Newcastle days before Christmas, with demand anticipated to be incredibly high.
The general sale kicks off on Friday, October 25, after a rocky start to the pre-sale which saw fans of the Glastonbury 2025 favourite denied tickets.
Those who had purchased Sam’s album through his website were given access to an artist pre-sale on Tuesday, only to be told their code was ‘invalid’.
Anyone who missed out will be able to try again on Friday as the general sale launches, hopefully, this time without too much chaos.
How to get Sam Fender tickets
Tickets to Sam’s seven UK shows are set to be in high demand with all except Newcastle .
Fans can head to the Hypersonic Missiles singer’s website which will then direct them straight to official sellers once the sale opens.
Official sites will include Ticketmaster and See Tickets, who hosted the pre-sales, although be prepared for queues on both.
Fans reported waiting for over an hour to get through to purchasing in Tuesday’s pre-sale scramble.
Newcastle’s show is slightly different, as gig-goers needed to register in a ballot with their local postcode, not dissimilar from the Oasis ballot where fans had to answer questions to enter.
This ballot has now closed, with all successful entrants having been contacted with instructions by Wednesday, October 23.
Sam’s website states the ballot will give fans the chance to purchase up to four tickets but does not guarantee them.
Where is Sam Fender on tour in 2024 and 2025?
Sam, who rose to fame in 2019 with his debut album winning a Brit Award, is heading to seven UK cities before Christmas.
The People Watching UK tour dates are:
- December 2 – 3Arena, Dublin
- December 4 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
- December 6 – Co-Op Live, Manchester
- December 7 – Co-Op Live, Manchester (extra date)
- December 10 – The O2, London
- December 12 – The O2, London (extra date)
- December 13 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
- December 16 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
- December 17 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (extra date)
- December 20 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
He will then take the show across to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium in March 2025.
The 2025 dates are:
- March 4 – Olympia, Paris
- March 5 – Poppodium, Tilburg
- March 8 – Halle 622, Zurich
- March 10 – Palladium, Cologne
- March 12 – Zenith, Munich
- March 13 – ChorusLife Arena, Bergamo
- March 16 – Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin
- March 18 – Afas Live, Amsterdam
- March 19 – Forest National, Brussels
How much are Sam Fender tickets?
For Sam’s arena tour, seated tickets will cost between £65.87 and £88.37 while standing are priced at £82.75.
There is no word on whether dynamic pricing will be switched on for this sale but fans in the pre-sale didn’t report any increases.
Sam’s team announced that £1 from every ticket sold for the UK dates will be donated to the Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots venues.
Purchasing gig tickets at the moment is a minefield with second-hand and fake tickets being flogged by third-party sites for thousands.
O2 revealed recently that 62% of fans are unaware they are purchasing from a third-party seller, which often sees them paying over face value for tickets.
‘Our research makes it very clear – professional ticket touts, who are making millions of pounds out of fans, are taking advantage of consumer confusion online,’ said Gareth Griffiths who is the director of partnerships and sponsorship at Virgin Media O2.
During a panel discussion on the ticket touting crisis, he added: ‘Whilst there are some resale platforms that exist to help fans and cap secondary profits, there are others who seek only to make as much money as possible out of genuine fans.’
Fans are being advised to think critically when they see tickets on sale through non-official channels while a new law is discussed in parliament.