Rush to see Billy Connolly at Usher Hall crashes ticketing system

Published on Tuesday 7 July 2009 10:10

A HUGE scramble for tickets to see the Big Yin perform live in Edinburgh caused an entire booking system to crash yesterday.

Billy Connolly fans were left frustrated trying to get their hands on the briefs for any of his four gigs at the Usher Hall.

Demand was so high that the booking system failed meaning people couldn't book online or by phone. And because the council-owned venue is being refurbished, no-one could pick them up in person either.

Matthew Thomson, 23, started calling at 10am, when the box office opened. He said: "I tried phoning the Usher Hall consistently for an hour but it was always engaged.

"Billy Connolly is popular, what did they expect? Of course there was a rush, the man is a legend."

The website message read: "We are currently experiencing a systems problem which means we are unable to process transactions on-line or on the phone."

But despite the problems touts already had them listed on eBay even before lines opened. Bids were as high as 63 per ticket – double the 30 face value – with demand expected to soar.

The council reassured customers that despite the technical fault there are still tickets available. Councillor Deidre Brock, Culture Convenor, said:

"Unfortunately there has been a technical fault with a telephone line which is affecting ticket transactions.

"We will post updates on www.usherhall.co.uk to advise on progress and are looking to restore ticket sales within 24 hours."