The District Child Protection Unit in Ahmedabad has issued a notice to singer Chris Martin and the organisers of the Coldplay concert, instructing them not to use children in any form on stage during the concert scheduled to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on January 25 and 26.

The organisers have also been directed to ensure that no children are allowed to enter the concert venue without earplugs or hearing protection.

The Unit has highlighted that sound levels exceeding 120 decibels during the concert could pose significant risks to children’s health.

Failure to comply with these directives will result in strict action by the District Child Protection Unit in Ahmedabad

The notice was issued in response to a complaint filed by Pandit Rao Dharnevar, Assistant Professor of Sociology in Chandigarh.

Speaking to ANI, Dharnevar stated that involving children in concerts featuring loud sounds and bright lights can harm their physical health and mental development. He further emphasized his commitment to taking similar steps in the future to safeguard children’s rights.

Earlier, Pandit Rao Dharnevar had also filed a complaint against Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh’s New Year’s Eve concert in Ludhiana.

This complaint led the Deputy Director of the Women and Child Department, Government of Punjab, to issue a formal notice to Ludhiana’s District Commissioner, urging them to prevent the singer from performing certain songs during his live show on December 31, 2024.

The notice specifically called for a ban on songs accused of promoting alcohol, such as ‘Patiala Pegg,’ ‘5 Tara Theke,’ and ‘Case (Jeeb Vicho Feem Labbiya),’ even if their lyrics were modified.

Dharnevar expressed concerns about the impact of such songs, particularly on young and impressionable audiences, especially when underage children are present.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

BookMyShow might cancel Coldplay tickets that were “sold unethically”. The online aggregator filed a First Information Report or FIR on Wednesday against scalping and black marketing of tickets for the highly-anticipated concert in Mumbai and said that it was monitoring “instances of ticket reselling for this tour through black market channels”.

“Our stance remains clear and unchanged – BookMyShow vehemently condemns and opposes ticket reselling which is deemed illegal and is punishable by law in India,” it said.

It reiterated that it has no association with any such “unauthorised ticket-selling/reselling platforms and/or any third-party individuals/platforms for the purpose of reselling Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India”.

The FIR has been filed days after the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police interrogated BookMyShow executives over an alleged scam involving the sale of the tickets.

The platform said it addressed all concerns “much before any formal complaint was raised against us”.

“We have provided details of all resellers that have come to our attention, including independent individuals reselling tickets for this tour across social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp and beyond, as also digital platforms such as Viagogo, Stubhub Holdings and more, to aid authorities in a thorough investigation,” it added.

The band has three shows at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on January 18, 19 and 21 next year as part of its “Music of the Spheres World Tour 2025”. The ticket sale hit controversy after concerns were raised about ticketing scams as millions of fans scrambled for a limited number of tickets. The shows were sold out in minutes.

Those who missed out were infuriated when they saw tickets worth Rs 6,000- appear on resale websites at inflated prices.

BookMyShow has been insisting it had “no association” with unauthorised ticket selling since it received a massive public backlash and its executives got summoned for questioning.. 

“As the promoter and official ticketing platform bringing Coldplay to India, we at BookMyShow have worked hard to ensure every fan had a fair chance to secure tickets, by pricing them affordably as also capping purchase at 4 tickets per user across all shows, providing clear, step-by-step booking guides and maintaining transparent communication through all our official channels. We remain committed to ensuring a fair and genuine experience for all our consumers,” BookMyShow asserted.

The company also clarified that Coldplay’s performances in India will proceed as planned. “Reports contrary to this are factually incorrect,” it said.

Mumbai:

Upcoming concerts of British band Coldplay in Mumbai and Indian singer Diljit Dosanjh in Chandigarh and other cities triggered a travel rush by fans, leading to over 300 per cent surge in flight bookings, online travel agency ixigo said in a report on Wednesday.

The Grammy award-winning band Coldplay is scheduled to perform at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium during January 18-21 as part of its ‘Music of the Spheres’ world tour.

Punjabi singing sensation Diljit Dosanjh will perform at a live concert in Chandigarh in December this year as part of his DIL-UMINATI India tour.

The country is witnessing a surge in travel bookings as fans flock to see these two live performances, said the ixigo report, adding that the platform has observed a sharp rise in flight, train, and bus bookings and searches to key concert cities.

Mumbai has experienced a staggering 350 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in flight bookings, said the report.

Chandigarh, one of the destinations for the DIL-UMINATI India tour, has seen a 300 per cent YoY surge in flight bookings, it said.

Other DIL-UMINATI concert cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Indore have also recorded an average 100 per cent YoY growth in flight bookings on their respective event dates.

“We’ve observed a significant shift in Indian travellers’ preferences, with more people willing to spend on experiences like music concerts and festivals. The passion for live performances is driving fans to travel, and this surge in bookings across flights, trains, and buses shows how music tourism is becoming a major force in the country,” ixigo Group CEO Aloke Bajpai said.

The report, based on ticket bookings and searches on ixigo platform, further said that tier II cities are fuelling bus travel demand for concerts.

Bus searches from Jaipur, Nagpur, Dehradun, Varanasi, Indore, Surat, and Kanpur have surged for concert dates, it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

BookMyShow chief executive officer and co-founder Ashish Hemrajani and the company’s technical head have been issued fresh summons over the alleged black marketing of tickets for the concert by British rock band Coldplay. The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which had earlier called them for questioning on Saturday, has now asked them to appear before an investigating officer today.

According to sources, both of them are not in touch with the police.

The police have initiated a probe on the complaint of an advocate, Amit Vyas, who accused the ticketing platform of facilitating the black marketing of tickets for the Coldplay concert at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium from January 19 to 21 next year.

Mr Vyas has alleged that Coldplay’s India tour tickets, which were originally priced at Rs 2,500, are being resold by third parties and influencers for as much as Rs 3 lakh.

He alleged that BookMyShow deceived the public and Coldplay fans, and is seeking a case to be registered against the company on fraud charges.

The police have already recorded Mr Vyas’ statement and have identified several brokers involved in the alleged ticket scalping.

BookMyShow had crashed when the sale of tickets for Coldplay’s India concert began on September 22.

The British rock band, which is returning to India after an eight-year hiatus, had then added a third show to the Mumbai leg of the “Music of the Spheres World Tour 2025”.

BookMyShow On Coldplay’s India Concert

As the issue of “fake” tickets for the Coldplay concert snowballed, the BookMyShow said it has no association with any unauthorised ticket-selling or reselling platforms and has also filed a police complaint.

The ticketing platform also claimed that it took a number of steps to ensure that all genuine fans had a fair chance to secure tickets for the British pop-rock band’s concerts and warned against buying passes from unauthorised sources, saying that they may be invalid or fake.

“With 13 million (1.3 crore) fans eager to get tickets and logged in, emotions ran high on September 22 on BookMyShow for Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India. At BookMyShow, we’ve worked hard to ensure every fan had a fair chance to secure tickets, capping it at 4 tickets per user across all shows, providing clear, step-by-step booking guides and maintaining transparent communication through all our official channels,” a BookMyShow spokesperson said.

The company said the queueing system was put in place to manage the high demand and while that may have caused a brief delay, it ensured “minimal disruption” for genuine fans. It also pointed out that a third show was added, which got a great response.

“It came to our notice however that unauthorised platforms listed – and are continuing to list – tickets…both before and after the official sale. BookMyShow has no association with any such unauthorised ticket selling/reselling platforms including but not limited to Viagogo and Gigsberg or third-party individuals for the purpose of reselling Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that BookMyShow opposes the practice of scalping and black-marketing of tickets, which is punishable by law, and said that the company has filed a complaint with the police.

“We have not only filed a complaint with the police authorities but are also proactively working with them to provide complete support in the investigation of this matter in any manner that may be required. To our consumers, we would like to reiterate that any tickets bought from unauthorised sources will be at their own risk and may likely be invalid or fake tickets,” the spokesperson warned.

Tens of thousands of Indian Coldplay fans were gutted when they failed to get the highly coveted concert passes for the band’s Mumbai show after queuing up for hours on online ticketing platform BookMyShow.

Coldplay’s India concert – part of the Music of The Spheres World Tour 2025 – kicked off a rush for tickets, which were gone within minutes of going on sale on September 22.

The stupendous fan frenzy in India highlights the enduring popularity of this Grammy-winning British rock band in a country where such big-ticket concerts are rare.

Coldplay, which was born in London in 1997, is arguably among the most iconic rock bands of the times. The music made by lead vocalist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion has been described as “melodic, emotional and uplifting”, playing on themes of love, loss, and hope.

Coldplay last visited India in 2016 for a concert remembered by Gen X and Y with much delight.

The 2025 Mumbai tour is scheduled on January 18, 19, and 21 (added later) at DY Patil Stadium. The official ticket prices ranged from Rs 2,500 to Rs 35,000 for lounge access. However, the reality was starkly different.

Mad rush

Around 1.3 crore Coldplay fans rushed to scoop up tickets, resulting in a sell-out of all 1.5 lakh tickets within 30 minutes. Fans flooded BookMyShow’s website and app when ticket sales began at noon on Sunday but were crushed to learn that the shows were fully booked. BookMyShow added a third show but has failed to silence fans outraging over unfair ticketing practices.

“Soldplay” memes and rants flooded social media, with disappointed fans flagging reseller sites and inflated prices. Many complained that resale platforms bought the tickets and, taking advantage of the huge demand, sold them at inflated prices climbing to as much as Rs 3 -10 lakh.

“It really hurts that I couldn’t get a ticket to your Mumbai concert. Most people bought them just to resell at a high price, and real fans like me missed out. Hopefully next time,” lamented a heartbroken fan.

BookMyShow eventually issued a warning, advising fans to avoid unauthorised platforms that were selling fake tickets at inflated prices.

“BookMyShow has no association with any ticket selling/reselling platforms such as Viagogo and Ginsberg or third party individuals for the purpose of reselling of Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India,” it said in a statement on X.

For thousands, scoring a ticket meant fastest finger first. Or luck. Or if all else failed, the black market.

“We tried buying the tickets for Coldplay but it hardly took us ten minutes to realise that there were no tickets available. Coldplay, being one of the biggest music groups right now, you do expect such demand. But the sad thing is that the tickets are available in the black market and it was costing rupees one to three lakh,” says Bengaluru-based DJ Clitus, who has been in the music industry for the last 30 years.

“Who are these people selling the tickets and who are the people buying them? I don’t think true fans would pay so much money for the concert,” he remarks.

Furious Fans

In today’s connected world, musicians and singers have devoted fans across continents. They have a huge fan base in India as well. Yet not many of these popular singers have chosen to come to India on their tours, leaving fans disappointed. But that hasn’t stopped those who are ready to fly to concert venues abroad to catch their favourite stars on stage.

In March, Taylor Swift held six concerts in Singapore as part of her global Eras Tour but none in India despite her massive fan base here. Many Swifties from India flew to Singapore for her concert. Even K-Pop groups, though Asian and with a huge fan base in India, are yet to travel here.

The sheer logistics and costs involved in touring a country as vast and complex as India likely deters many music stars from including it in their itinerary.

“It can be challenging to organise schedules, arrange travel, and ensure a smooth experience for both the artists and the audience. Moreover, there may be concerns about the size of the target audience and the demand for specific genres or artists in India,” says a concert organiser who didn’t want to be named.

The world of music now draws not just aficionados but a wider audience of those who simply enjoy music and those who like to be seen at such events, be it celebrities or influencers.

“I think the organising of these events is not up to standard. People are trying to make fast money. It’s more of a social media trend. How many people would actually know Coldplay beyond a song or two? Organisers need to come up with some ideas similar to how they do in the West – like having fans get the tickets first,” says DJ Clitus.

Those who refuse to give up are now joining virtual queues for tickets to see Coldplay perform in Abu Dhabi next year.