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His Majesty
Upfront for hours and hours, what do people do when they need the toilet?

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Karlos123
I'm pretty sure that it was Tiers from the very beginning. That's why I was worried that Tier 1 and 2 could be actually pretty large and Tier 3 at the end of Hyde Park. Obviously that worry turned out to be wrong...

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peters318
Come on guys, its a gig, not the end of the world.

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gotdablouse
UPDATED 06042013 1.15PM CET
Although some people were given a 3 day deadline by M. Rob Hallett, President of International Touring at AEG Live (the promoters of the BSC Festival) to decide whether they wanted a refund/downgrade/upgrade (for pay upgrade not offered to all), further requests for clarification have not been answered since last night.

The original description in the "Tickets" sections has been added below, previously we had a screen capture of the purchase page, the content is the same.

It should also be noted that there is now mention of "The Garden" an area exclusive to T1/T2 holders with food, drinks and toilets. "The Garden" had never been mentioned before, which could only encourage potential buyers to get the "Unwind Backstage Bar" for an extra £100 to get access to such essential services. As seen on the map, "The Garden" is in fact located closer to T1 and T2 than the "Unwind Backstage Bar"!

So there are two issues really:
- inducing potential buyers to buy more expensive T1 and T2 tickets by using fraudulent descriptions of T1/T2/T3 placement.
- inducing potential T1 and T2 buyers to purchase the "Unwind Backstage Bar" package for an extra £100 by not mentioning that its essential services like toilets, food and drinks came with standard T1 and T2 tickets in "The Garden".

UPDATED 05042013 11.00PM CET
M. Rob Hallett, President of International Touring at AEG Live (the promoters of the BSC Festival), has now replied to emails sent to him inquiring as to what the actual setup will be at Hyde Park for the festival in view of the inconsistencies between what was written on the BSC site where the tickets were sold and the map published on the Rolling Stones twitter account and the information he gave to The Standard this morning.

The same email (seen here: [www.iorr.org]) was sent to everyone and in summary, he does not acknowledge that T1 and T2 buyers were misled (the descriptions on the BST site have now been changed, see below) but nonetheless a full refund or a downgrade to T3 is offered. Apparently a decision has to be made within 3 days and at this point it is not clear whether the refund includes fees (10%) and shipping (£30 for international), since a "full refund" is mentioned, hopefully they do.

Overview map of the final setup :


Detailed map of the final setup :



NEW DESCRIPTION of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 :




OLD DESCRIPTION of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 :

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UPDATED 05042013 7.30PM CET
Based on info received from the ticketing company it appears the map posted on the RS Twitter is a "fake" (their own words) and that there will indeed be T1 in the front, T2 behind it and then T3...an official confirmation has yet to ve made though.

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ORIGINAL POST : SUMMARY - Confusion on "Seating Chart" at Hyde Park ! Rip-off for Diamond/T1 and Gold/T2 Tickets ?

When rumours started of a possible Rolling Stones concert at Hyde Park in July, people wondered what the setup would be like, especially since they'd used a "tongue pit" at their recent 2012 shows that was much appreciated by those who made it there. Originally we had this to go buy (found by ByeBye Johnny in early March)



Bon Jovi's setup, although it's not clear if it was for Hyde Park or their stadium tour.

Then when the tickets went for sale (pre-sale on Wednesday 03/04) we had this :

GA Tier 1 – access to the area directly in front of the stage
GA Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission
GA Tier 3 – access to the main spectator area



and for the "Hospitality Packages" (An added £100 to T1 and T2), the Unwind Backstage Bar :





Which was consistent with the Bon Jovi setup above (except that GA no longer had access to the FOS) and consistent with the Bon Jovi Hyde Park ticketing as well. In effect it looked more like this chart published by Ticketmaster on their site:



...then the Rolling Stones twitter posted this on 03/04 late evening :



Confusion set in

After the show sold out today, Mr. Hallett, the concert promoter from AEG, declared on [www.standard.co.uk] that

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“The band wanted the regular ticket-holders to be right at the front of the stage staring at the whites of their eyes, not 200 yards away,” he said.

“The people who have coughed up for hospitality packages will get looked after in a way they have never known before. But when the doors open, if you can run faster than the next guy, it will be like any other general admission gig.”

Then the RS twitter account posted this at about 1PM BST :



With the picture being :



Where (as paulywaul posted in the HP thread) :

A - there is no Tier 1/DIAMOND CIRCLE area
B - GA extends all the way to the front of stage

So what gives ? Confusion, rip-off, both ? This needs to be clarified ASAP !

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Doxa

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peters318
Come on guys, its a gig, not the end of the world.

Exactly. It is good some cooler views are popping up here as well, and the whole situation is to be seen in a bit adult-like perspective. Surely the whole mess is a fraud, there is no question about it, but taking the whining these two "heroes" of this thread are loudly presenting, it really sounds like it is the end of world. I can understand the anger and disappointment of many people who have invested a lot to seeing The Stones "close" at least once in their life in some bearable circumstances, and I have my all sympathy for them. But these two heroes are something different. They sound like some spoiled cry-babies who are are not getting the exact candy they want to have, or think they should have. The world is end when they are not privileged to see the Stones in straight front of the stage, front line, but - my god - some few meters on the side. Jeez, after both of them seen The Stones for how many times, how close, how private and all, these heroes now sound like they are the most unfair treated people in the world. Oh god, it must be horror to see The Stones from a few dozen feet distance - can anyone survive that?

Oh yeah, now it is the question of how "wrong" they are treated, what a bad system The Stones represent, and how wrong everything is, when the shit happens to hit their fan. Who cares when "lesser" fans are complaining of how wrong they see the whole situation to be, and how distant the Stones are from their reasonable reach. Now it is a question of "customers' rights" and everything. Now it is a question of life and death. It is not even "complianing", as "lesser" fans do, but something more important.

I tried earler to see the whole mess in a more larger perspective, and I find it amusing how the Stones manage to piss off almost all of their fan base, now finally hitting the "elite" crowd willing to pay anything they ask for (surely I was rather sarcastic and my style is a bit colourful, I admit). And I tried also say something of the logic behind these new arrangment (letting the "multitude", the "poor fan" section get FOS position. And quite many, including the moderator of this site, seemed to think alike, and even agreeing with the idea). But these two heroes adult-like decided to start calling me with names, such as "a**hole" and "anything I say do not make sense" or "why didn't I not retire". Of course, it is their privileged position this time in question, their little life that is threatened now - not being front stage. Que horror.

The Stones are playing in Hyde Park in July. Anyone has a ticket to get in? Great!! .... What? You don't go because you don't have FOS? Okay... Okay, do boycott, sue the Stones, sue anyone involved.

I don't expect a sense of humour or non-self-centered thinking, but some damn perspective and common sense is required, for god sake.

- Doxa

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The Worst.
F**k right off.

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phd
It seems that those that bought Tier 2 for 299 GBP + fees , like me, were ripped off. Who is to blame ? AEG or The Stones. I cannot imagine The Stones Inc. not aware of the location plan.

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The Worst.
I don't belong to an elite in any sense of the word.
Every Stones tour I've been too, I've had to borrow money for tickets.
Including this show.
I fly cheap and stay at shit hostels.
People have saved money for a long time in order to score a great ticket for this one. They have every right to be angry when they got screwed this way.

Yes, some people care more about fancy wine and food options,
but I for one couldn't care less for flushing toilets and access to a mysterious garden far behind the stage. But that's not the point. You could own a fortune, but still be fooled the same way. No one likes to be fooled. And I don't give a shit if you detest people who fight for their rights as customers.

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His Majesty
Upfront for hours and hours, what do people do when they need the toilet?

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bobdylan1258
The Bruce picture from Hyde Park. I was there (a terrible miserable experience, but in context that doesnt matter. and was a ticket agent for the show. The entire show was GA, no fences, no pit, to Tier 1 or 2. So although you make avalid point and locationwise are spot on you are imagining a fence. There was no fence.

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Topi
The fans over at the Bon Jovi site are in denial. Whoah.

[drycounty.com]

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Doxa

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The Worst.
I don't belong to an elite in any sense of the word.
Every Stones tour I've been too, I've had to borrow money for tickets.
Including this show.
I fly cheap and stay at shit hostels.
People have saved money for a long time in order to score a great ticket for this one. They have every right to be angry when they got screwed this way.

Yes, some people care more about fancy wine and food options,
but I for one couldn't care less for flushing toilets and access to a mysterious garden far behind the stage. But that's not the point. You could own a fortune, but still be fooled the same way. No one likes to be fooled. And I don't give a shit if you detest people who fight for their rights as customers.

If you read more carefully my post, I wasn't talking about people like you at all. but those two persons who think it is alright to call people at names. You like being called as "a''hole" etc.? I refuse to go that level, but answer with the means I am home with, that is, interpreting their behavior by the terms I best know. Let's say it is personal - and I respect the stuff these two guys do for the rest of you who are fooled with this fraud.

- Doxa

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tatters
How is anyone being screwed? You might have to rub elbows with people who didn't spend as much as you? Oh, the horror!

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rebelrebel

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tatters
How is anyone being screwed? You might have to rub elbows with people who didn't spend as much as you? Oh, the horror!

It beggars belief that you have to ask the first question. As for the second, let me tell you I've done Gold Circle at Hyde Park before - a real GC that is - and it did exactly what I expected and paid for. I turned up late and had a reasonable view. I didn't expect to be at the front and I wasn't, I was at the back. In fact right next to people on the other side of the barrier who had just as good a view as me from GA because they had waited all day. And I respected them for that, whilst looking at the crush they were in and knowing that there was no way I could have coped with it. It would be the same at the front of the GC and I'm not interested in that either. No, I didn't have a problem at all in rubbing shoulders with people who'd paid less than me. I was perfectly happy because I'd got what I paid for and so had they. That's not the case this time.

Do you think the offer of a refund changes the fact that we have been screwed? I am 100% sure that I would not have bought a ticket for this concert if I had known the site plan. But they deliberately lied - "access to an area closer to the stage than GA" which is simply not true for Tier 2. Did you try getting Tier 1 or 2 tickets? Obviously not, well it was stressful. So after the stress the elation and then the deflation. That is completely different to making an informed decision to avoid the whole thing from the start. I probably will get a refund now. Left to myself I definitely would but my brother is going and he has never seen the Stones so it's really up to him. But this is the last time, that's for sure. It will probably be the last time in any case but whether they ever play the UK again or not I've had enough.

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tatters

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rebelrebel

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tatters
How is anyone being screwed? You might have to rub elbows with people who didn't spend as much as you? Oh, the horror!

It beggars belief that you have to ask the first question. As for the second, let me tell you I've done Gold Circle at Hyde Park before - a real GC that is - and it did exactly what I expected and paid for. I turned up late and had a reasonable view. I didn't expect to be at the front and I wasn't, I was at the back. In fact right next to people on the other side of the barrier who had just as good a view as me from GA because they had waited all day. And I respected them for that, whilst looking at the crush they were in and knowing that there was no way I could have coped with it. It would be the same at the front of the GC and I'm not interested in that either. No, I didn't have a problem at all in rubbing shoulders with people who'd paid less than me. I was perfectly happy because I'd got what I paid for and so had they. That's not the case this time.

Do you think the offer of a refund changes the fact that we have been screwed? I am 100% sure that I would not have bought a ticket for this concert if I had known the site plan. But they deliberately lied - "access to an area closer to the stage than GA" which is simply not true for Tier 2. Did you try getting Tier 1 or 2 tickets? Obviously not, well it was stressful. So after the stress the elation and then the deflation. That is completely different to making an informed decision to avoid the whole thing from the start. I probably will get a refund now. Left to myself I definitely would but my brother is going and he has never seen the Stones so it's really up to him. But this is the last time, that's for sure. It will probably be the last time in any case but whether they ever play the UK again or not I've had enough.

Yeah, but if you're in Tier 1 or Tier 2 you still have access to the GA area right in front of the stage, don't you? You can come and go as you please. Plus you get all those other amenities the GA people don't get; flushing toilets and whatnot, so I still don't see how it really qualifies as a fraud.

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drbryant
I paid 199 GBP for a tier 2 ticket (just the ticket, not the backstage bar, or whatever it's called). I think that's an OK price, but I'll probably push to get a refund. But, I do think that tier 1 is more attractive than a tier 3 general admission ticket, because I really don't want to stand there all day.