With the rush for Coldplay's concerts at Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium on January 18, 19, and 21, social media was filled with posts of fans trying to secure tickets using multiple devices. One woman’s effort caught attention because she spent the entire day glued to her screens, skipping meals and limiting bathroom breaks to buy tickets worth Rs 12,000. Interestingly, she wasn't even a fan of the band; she was trying to get tickets for her family instead.
Naomi Barton, a literary agent from Delhi, shared her experience on X about battling through a queue of 1.5 lakh people for Coldplay concert tickets in a now-viral thread.
"I don't even like Coldplay but my entire family has harangued me into contributing my devices to The Grand Ticket Buying and now I am 22,000 in queue and they are 1,50,000 in queue so my whole day is going to be spent looking at this page and carefully not refreshing it," she wrote. "This has turned into an impromptu family gathering. We are all on Google meet watching my screen. Refreshments have been acquired. Discussions are underway as to what we will do in case of only expensive tickets being available. Credit cards are being examined."
"Note that I am not even attending the concert. This is my concert."
Barton also mentioned that she had family members flying in from France and Spain, along with their friends, to attend the concert.
To pass the time while refreshing the page, Barton started reading a book. However, she soon discovered that all the reasonably priced seats were sold out. She then received extra money to try buying standing tickets while her family engaged in "frantically delusional conversations" about spending Rs 10,000 more than their budget. As Barton's spot in the queue moved from 1.5 lakh to around 8,000, she noticed that only 16 percent of the standing tickets were still available.
"If they [her family] start spending more money we are essentially going to be sacrificing Christmas. Is Chris Martin worth Secret Santa?" she asked.
During this time, when her brother-in-law gently suggested that it might not be worth the investment anymore, he was accused of not being a team player.
"I suspect he is going to be on the hook for the more expensive tickets also," Barton wrote before adding: "We love him dearly."
Soon, ticket prices shot up to Rs 12,000. "We're debating whether these expensive tickets are worth it or a scam. This amount is what I pay for rent! I'm starting to lose respect for my cousins," the literary agent said, adding that her every move was being closely watched.
Eventually, Barton's family agreed on a limit for how much they would spend on the tickets. One family member said, "I'm not paying one lakh to scalpers; I won't go at all." However, their efforts were in vain as the tickets sold out when there were 1,592 people left in the queue ahead of her. The only one feeling good about it was Barton. "I now have a nice amount of money in my bank account, which I can keep if I never want to talk to them again."
The family wasn’t ready to give up just yet. They tried again on Tuesday, only to find themselves back in line behind 1.5 lakh people. "My sibling cried," Barton wrote. "To cheer Kiki up, we're planning a Christmas weekend in a big house with a pool, playing 'Fix You' (which is apparently a Coldplay song!) really loudly and singing along while trying not to spill our cocktails."