A ticket tout has advertised more than £1million worth of tickets for U2‘s upcoming London shows, raising fresh questions about the use of automated bots to bulk-buy tickets and sell them on at inflated prices.
The Irish band’s four nights at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June 2027, part of their ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ world tour, sold out shortly after tickets went on sale last week.
However, a new investigation by The Guardian has revealed that one seller listed more than 2,000 tickets for the concerts on resale site StubHub, despite strict limits on the number that any individual buyer can purchase.
The seller, identified as Vladyslav Skrypka and claiming to be based in Harlow, Essex, advertised over 1,800 tickets for one night alone, some at more than four times their original price. If all of the tickets were sold at their advertised prices, they would generate more than £1million in sales.
The findings have raised concerns about how such large quantities of tickets can be obtained, given that the use of automated software to bypass ticket-buying limits has been outlawed in the UK since 2018.
Adam Webb of the music industry campaign group FanFair Alliance suggested that the listings could indicate either the use of bots or ‘speculative selling’ – where touts advertise tickets they do not yet possess, hoping to acquire them after a buyer has paid.
Webb questioned whether StubHub had verified the seller’s tickets, asking: “Have they seen evidence of Vladyslav’s receipts?”
There is no confirmation that either practice was used to obtain the tickets in question.
StubHub International has said it does not permit speculative selling and requires sellers to confirm that they own, or have the right to sell, the tickets they advertise.
“We are firmly against the use of bots,” the company said, arguing that stronger enforcement is needed at the original point of sale.
Ticketmaster disputed the suggestion that primary ticketing companies were responsible for the problem, saying it blocks 20 billion bots every month and that secondary marketplaces create the incentive for their use.
The controversy comes amid continued pressure on the UK government to introduce its long-promised ban on reselling tickets for profit.
In November 2025, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed plans to prohibit reselling tickets above face value, telling NME: “We promised when we were elected that it would be time up for ticket touts. It’s a good day.”
She also explained that the proposed legislation would give the Competition and Markets Authority powers to fine resale platforms up to 10 per cent of their annual turnover for breaches.
However, the plans have yet to become law. In May this year, the music industry expressed widespread disappointment when the government included only a draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill in the King’s Speech.
The decision raised fears that further consultations and parliamentary scrutiny could delay the introduction of tougher protections for fans.
At the time, Webb told NME: “Why take the long road when you could protect music fans today?”
The issue has affected several other major artists in recent weeks. In October, RAYE revealed that her Royal Albert Hall ticket registration system had been overwhelmed by scalpers using AI bots, after receiving 1.8 million sign-ups for just 5,000 seats.
Later that month, Sam Fender was forced to delay the pre-sale for his Newcastle stadium shows following what he described as a “sophisticated bot attack” on ticketing website Gigantic.
U2’s 2027 stadium tour will see Wolf Alice support them across the UK and Europe, following the release of their new album ‘Carnaval De Luz’ on Friday (November 13).
