Beyoncé fans enraged as some tickets cost more than a month’s rent

Beyoncé fans have been left worrying about their ‘Bills, bills, bills’ as the first tickets went on sale for her upcoming tour. The O2 presale for her UK tour dates opened this morning, causing fans to hover their cursor over Ticketmaster, credit card in hand, while refreshing the page eagerly, holding their breath, and considering whether they should skip rent for a month (or two, or three). 

Priority tickets for Beyoncé’s three-night residency at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium start at £55 but VIP experiences cost up to £2,400 – more than the average monthly rent in London (£1,832, according to HomeLet).

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The Beyhive expressed their anguish across social media. One fan said they’d have to sell their “house, cat, dog, car, clothes, and soul” to buy tickets for the tour.

And she wasn’t alone. Kalen Allen on Twitter said they’d be getting a new credit card. 

One fan even turned to god for advice, echoing the classic AA prayer with their tweet: “Lord, Grant me the serenity to accept the Beyoncé tickets I can find. The courage to stay within my budget. And the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”

Others wondered how they’d balance their bills and their dream concerts. Black Helena tweeted a bedraggled image of the robot star of horror movie M3GAN, captioning it: “Me trying to figure out how I’m going to get fall out boy and Beyoncé tickets, pay my rent and other bills.”

It was a mixture of joy and horror for Twitter user JD, who documented his emotional journey through photos of his idol.

Despite the prices, fans flocked to the O2 Priority app to bag their presale tickets, causing the app to crash and adding to fans’ stress. O2 later apologised, saying they’d experienced “high demand”. 

Beyoncé will be playing new music on the tour – her first since the Formation tour in 2016 – including her anti-work anthem Break My Soul, which came out in the summer of last year. In it, she sings, “I just quit my job,” and, “Damn, they work me so damn hard, Work by nine, then off past five… And they work my nerves, that’s why I cannot sleep at night.” 

The irony didn’t escape her fans, with one tweeting “Beyoncé better price those tickets like someone who told people to quit their jobs last July.” 

Another member of the Beyhive said: “Beyoncé told us to quit our jobs now we looking at these ticket prices like: ‘What more do you want from me?’”

The eye-watering ticket prices come amid a continuing cost-of-living crisis.

According to the Which? Consumer Insight Tracker, around 2.3 million households missed an essential payment including mortgage, rent, loan and credit cards last month as the cost of living tightens our belts.

On Twitter, Eileen Chambers accused Beyoncé of being “out of touch with her fans” saying: “These prices? In this economy? In a recession? It’s just too much!”

For those prices during a cost of living crisis, does it come with any extra benefits? Stelly on Twitter wrote: “Love Beyoncé but pass me the mic and put me on stage if I’m paying that price for a ticket?”

DJ ICON was left questioning the way our entire society is set up. He tweeted: “the prices I’m seeing of these Beyoncé tickets has me questioning whether capitalism is the best economic system.”

Beyoncé is worth an estimated $500 million, so the economic divide between the entertainer and her fans is steep. According to Billboard Boxscore, the Renaissance tour is set to gross more than $200 million.

For those who live near Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there is one small ray of light – the venue is offering ‘community tickets‘ for those living in the local area, through a ballot system.

For everyone else, the main ticket allocation for Beyoncé’s UK dates goes on sale at 10am on Tuesday February 7.