Government recommends photo ID for concerts

Government plans announced today could lead to music fans who are attending concerts being required to bring photographic identification with them.

The tough measures which are being ushered in to combat touts profiteering on sites like ebay from music and sports events will be unveiled today by the government.

A consultation paper has praised schemes where attendees can only pick up two tickets for gigs and shows per person, with the buyer then having to prove their identity at the door with a photo ID. Ministers want music and sports promoters to use these kind of measures which they say have successfully prevented touts from buying up tickets for high-profile events to sell on.

The consultation document launched today, uses as an example the measures used at concerts by Tom Waits in Edinburgh and Dublin last July where fans were allowed to buy only two tickets each. The holders' names were printed on the tickets and the corresponding photo ID was needed to get into the venues.

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe said, "Real efforts are being made by some event organisers to thwart the touts and ensure as many tickets as possible go straight to real fans. But most of the time, tickets go to whoever is quickest online on the day they go on sale - and too much of the time, that is touts who simply want to resell at a profit. The industry now needs to quickly build on these successful new approaches and ensure they become much more widespread."

The paper also calls for an expansion of the exchange schemes implemented in football by Chelsea and Manchester United football clubs whereby fans can sell on tickets they can no longer use at face value. The current music resale websites such as Seatwave and Viagogo have, according to some critics, merely exacerbated the problem of over priced touting.

The plans stop short of what some in the entertainment industry wanted which included a complete ban on the resale of tickets in a bid to end touting all together.

The measures do go some way to stop fake ticket selling sites. Although a number of websites selling fake tickets have been shut down by the authorities, this has come after they have left many people out of pocket.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport want to establish a trade body to oversee a code of principle for ticketing to oversee a voluntary 'code of principles' for ticketing. The aim being that customers buying tickets from outlets displaying the Star logo would know they were dealing with reputable sellers.