More Than 10,000 People Lied About Being at Manchester Attack to Get Into Benefit Show

Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry to perform at concert to benefit terror victims.

June 2, 2017 9:13 am
Thousands Lied About Being at Manchester Attack to Get Free Tickets to Benefit
Singer Ariana Grande attends Tiffany & Co.'s unveiling of the newly renovated Beverly Hills store and debut of 2016 Tiffany masterpieces at Tiffany & Co. on October 13, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.)

What kind of person would lie about being at a suicide bombing just to get a free concert ticket? According to Business Insider, there are more than 10,000 of them.

Ticketmaster set aside 14,200 free tickets to the star-studded benefit concert—which will feature Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Kate Perry, and other acts—for those audience members who were in attendance during the May 22 Manchester suicide attack. The bombing outside the Manchester Arena, as fans exited a Grande concert, killed 22 and injured scores of others.

Affected fans were asked to apply for the tickets through Ticketmaster. But in a statement, the ticket company reported:

“More than 25,000 people applied for them. Sadly, over 10,000 unscrupulous applications have been made….At Ticketmaster we are doing everything we can—including extending today’s deadline—to ensure that tickets go to the actual fans and not the opportunists or touts who have also been applying for free tickets.”

There have also been reports from fans on Twitter that tickets to the event have been popping up on eBay, but at press time, at least on the U.S. version of the platform, there are no such tickets listed.

The benefit, billed as “Ariana Grande & Friends: One Love Manchester,” takes place this Sunday. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, it will be simulcast live in the U.S. on ABC at 2 p.m. ET.

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