The ticket prices, £125 for the best seats, are the highest seen yet for an Elton John concert other than special fundraising shows such as the Royal Opera House and the Old Vic.

Hercules has heard from several UK fans unhappy over the upcoming concerts at Hampton Court Palace on June 17/18, 2003.

The ticket prices, £125 for the best seats, are the highest seen yet for an Elton John concert other than special fundraising shows such as the Royal Opera House and the Old Vic. The top prices for Elton’s UK arena tour in December 2002 were £50.

And this is for what appears to be a shorter concert than usual – it starts at 9.00 pm and seems unlikely to go past 11.00 pm. This means a 150% price increase for a 30% shorter concert!

Furthermore, being a solo show at a venue established at Hampton Court for 9 other shows that month, the overheads for Elton and his entourage could not be lower.

Suspicions are that Elton and/or the management’s financial demands are so high that prices have been forced up dramatically for the capacity audience of around 2,500.

The most expensive top price ticket at the festival other than Elton is £85 for Jose Carreras who, one would presume, will perform with an orchestra. Jools Holland performs with a remarkably large band yet the most his fans will pay is £38.50.

Some normally die-hard fans are giving it a miss as they simply can’t justify the expense. It remains to be seen what other UK shows will follow this year and whether the dramatic hike of prices will stay.

Unfortunately, the UK is not the only bad example: The trend of increasing ticket prices also holds true for the USA, Germany and other European countries. Even worse, the really good seats in the first few rows are usually sold as 'Golden Circle' or 'VIP tickets' at many German shows, making it even more difficult for Elton fans to enjoy a show from a perfect position.

Back to Headlines