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Coldplay perform Music of The Spheres World Tour at Wembley Stadium in London on 12 Aug, 2022. Alamy Stock Photo
Coldplay

Coldplay fans face fees of over €2,440 for Dublin accommodation for Croke Park gigs

Most hotels are booked out and one-night stays in apartments can set you back over €2,400.

COLDPLAY FANS WISHING to spend the night in the capital when the band comes to Croke Park next year face charges of up to €2,400.

The two Croke Park gigs were confirmed this morning after much speculation online.

Graphics at a recent Coldplay performance in Amsterdam appeared to tease an upcoming Irish appearance, with a screen reading #ColdplayDublin.

And last night, Ticketmaster momentarily confirmed the concerts, before taking the information off their website.

However, the dates have been set in concrete this morning with the band paying their first visit to Ireland in seven years with two Croke Park gigs next year on 29 and 30 August.

The shows are part of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour and presale tickets will go on sale at 10am next Tuesday, with general sale starting at 10am next Friday.

Fans hoping to stay in Dublin for the gigs face an uphill task, with five or fewer properties available on popular travel marketplace Booking.com.

According to Booking.com, “99% of places to stay are unavailable on our site” on the 29 and 30 August, 2024.

Hostels and private apartments are the only places currently available to stay, with prices ranging from €178 for a bed in an “18-Bed Mixed Dormitory Room with Shared Bathroom” to €2,448 for a “1-bedroom holiday home situated right in the heart of Dublin”.

Taylor Swift fans have also faced accommodation issues after the US popstar announced three Aviva Stadium gigs next year.

Swift will perform in the Aviva from 28-30 June, 2024.

Speaking in the Dáil last week, Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: “Cost pressures are not an excuse for the multiple increases in the usual prices we have seen around specific concerts, most recently, the Taylor Swift concert.”

Responding in the Dáil, Tourism Minister Catherine Martin confirmed she had requested Fáilte Ireland, the statutory body for Irish tourism, to commission independent research into the scale and frequency of pricing issues.

“The long-term impacts of short-term thinking need to be carefully considered by all tourism businesses in setting their prices,” Minister Martin said.

“While there is fair value to be had in tourism accommodation, including hotels, around the country for much of the year, there are specific price spikes at specific times and locations, often coinciding with concerts and sporting events.”

Elsewhere, a Dublin hotel apologised to Taylor Swift fans after reservations they made to attend the singer’s concerts in the capital next year were cancelled.

On 1 July, people who had booked a room at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel shared on Twitter that they had had their reservations cancelled.

In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for the hotel said an “operational system error” on 20 June has resulted in a “significant overbooking of bedrooms” for 28 and 29 June, 2024.

“Hotel management, together with our booking system service provider, are currently urgently investigating the reasons why this may have occurred,” the 3 July statement from the hotel added.

“In the meantime, and pending the result of our ongoing investigations, we express our deep regret at this occurrence and apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement read.

“The third-party booking platform provider has confirmed their customer service team will handle all booking cancellations associated with this overbooking incident in a prompt manner.”

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