Madonna at Murrayfield: Fans will pay £420 each for VIP tickets

MADONNA fans face having to fork out up to £200 a time to guarantee a ringside seat for her Murrayfield concert, and more than double that for a VIP seat, The Scotsman can reveal.

Promoters LiveNation are today selling “gold circle” packages guaranteeing early entry to the standing arena at the stadium – despite claims that ticket prices had been pegged at £125.

And hundreds of the best seats at Murrayfield will be going on sale to the public as part of VIP packages costing £420 a head.

There are fears normal fans will be priced out of the concert as the cheapest tickets start at £45, plus booking fees.

The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Kylie Minogue are among the major acts to face claims of over-pricing after failing to sell out major shows in Scotland in recent years.

However, the promoters of Madonna’s show are said to believe the Murrayfield concert will be a sell-out as it is one of just two UK venues on her European tour, the other being in London. It is also the 53-year-old’s first show in Scotland.

The Scottish Rugby Union last night insisted it played no part in setting the ticket prices for the gig, which will be held on the opening weekend of Edinburgh’s festivals season. Thousands of tickets for the gig are already thought to have been snapped up during a brief “pre-sale” period earlier this week, although the official sale is not due to start until 10am today.

According to Live Nation’s website, the £200 gold circle package includes a ticket to the general standing arena, an “early entry” pass offering entry to the venue before regular ticket holders, a tour laminate and an “exclusive gift”.

The £420 VIP package – for prime seats in four different blocks of the stadium – includes a two-and-a-half hour hospitality event before the concert, complimentary bars, “stylised room dressing and floral arrangements”, an inhouse DJ and a one-hour post-show party.

A spokesman for the SRU added: “The concert is being completely handled by Live Nation and we didn’t have anything to do with the ticket prices or packages that they put together.”

Fiona Shepherd, The Scotsman’s pop and rock critic, said: “With these kind of things, the promoters will basically just charge what they think they can get away with.

“I remember Kylie Minogue doing a similar thing with an area in front of the stage at the SECC, which I was lucky enough to be in, but it seemed pretty quiet. I think promoters can only push these things so far.

“This is the first time she has played in Scotland and the other factor is that most of fans will not be teenagers, they will be a lot older and will be more likely to afford a higher ticket price.

“I think people are prepared to pay up to £100 but I’m not sure about anything more than that. It may be that they’ll have to release these tickets at the normal prices if the packages don’t sell out.”

A spokeswoman for Live Nation declined to comment.