Ariana Grande tickets cancelled by Ticketmaster, StubHub. What to know
Arianators are upset at Ticketmaster for canceling their tickets after buying them through resellers. Here is what to know if your ticket was canceled
- Fans of Ariana Grande have faced ticket cancellations and high resale prices for her “Eternal Sunshine” tour.
- Ticketmaster stated it canceled tickets flagged for suspicious activity to combat resellers, affecting some legitimate fans.
- Ariana Grande acknowledged the reseller issue and assured fans her team was working on a solution.
While plenty of Ariana Grande fans might have won the battle to secure tickets to the star’s first tour since 2018, some are still scrambling to find out why their tickets were canceled or why they paid a higher-than-usual price.
After the native Florida announced her “Eternal Sunshine” tour in August, tickets to Grande’s 2026 tour became available to purchase in September. And fans endured a grueling presale and general sale, with tens of thousands waiting simultaneously in long online queues.
When fans finally got through to purchase tickets, many were met with sold-out arenas and zero tickets available. Days later, tickets for the tour started reappearing — only this time at much heftier prices.
This led many to speculate that scalpers got their hands on most of the tickets, similar to what happened with other popular tours, most notably Taylor Swift’s wildly successful “The Eras Tour.” In early October, Grande posted a statement on her Instagram story, saying her team was aware of fans complaining about resellers and she was “incredibly bothered” by it.
“I’ve been on the phone every second of my free time fighting for a solution. I hear you, and hopefully, we will be able to get more of these tickets into your hands instead of theirs. It’s not right,” she wrote.
“I just wanted you to know that my team and I see it and that I care very much and we will do, and are doing, everything we can. I love you so much and thank you for your patience and understanding.”
However, several fans have expressed disappointment and frustration after Ticketmaster canceled their tickets, claiming their orders were flagged for suspicious activity. Is this actually happening? And what can fans do if their tickets were canceled?
Here’s what to know about Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine” tour dates and what we know about Ticketmaster canceling some tickets.
Why are some Ariana Grande tour tickets getting canceled?
In an email to the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida, Ticketmaster confirmed it partnered with the tour to review all ticket purchases. They said that any suspicious activity in original purchases was flagged, as noted in the emails to fans afterward.
Other ticket marketplaces are also addressing the situation. In an emailed statement, StubHub said it was aware that Ticketmaster had canceled valid ticket orders for Grande’s tour, leaving “many fans frustrated.”
“Our priority is the fans, and every order on StubHub is fully covered by our FanProtect Guarantee. If anything goes wrong, we’ll either get you into the show or give you your money back,” Alix Anfang, a StubHub spokesperson said.
“Fans shouldn’t lose their seats simply because they chose a trusted, regulated resale marketplace. While we support efforts to stop bad actors, broad cancellations that impact real fans do the opposite. We’re urging Ticketmaster to reinstate valid tickets and adopt transfer policies that put fans first.”
If you don’t know, StubHub is a verified ticket reseller, so any tickets that were bought through StubHub and then canceled were voided as a result of Ticketmaster’s cancellations.
The company is proactively reviewing tickets that may have been impacted by the Ticketmaster cancellations and working directly with sellers to secure either alternative tickets or refunds for those affected, Rachel Murray, a spokesperson for StubHub told the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida in a phone call.
USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida also reached out to SeatGeek and didn’t recieve a response at the time this article was published. It is unknown whether concertgoers in Florida were affected, as the Sunrise shows were handled by SeatGeek.
Is Ticketmaster being sued? What to know about FTC lawsuit
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in September, accusing Ticketmaster and its parent company, LiveNation, of “illegal ticket resale tactics” and “deceiving artists and consumers about price and ticket limits.”
“Ticketmaster is the leading provider of tickets for concerts—controlling about 80% or more of major concert venues’ primary ticketing—and it also has a growing share of ticket resales in the secondary market,” a press release from the FTC states. “From 2019 to 2024 alone, consumers spent more than $82.6 billion purchasing tickets from Ticketmaster.”
The company later announced it would bar users from having multiple accounts on the platform, according to the Hollywood Reporter. In a letter to lawmakers, they state they would be closing TradeDesk, its ticket inventory platform that allows ticket brokers to list their tickets on multiple ticketing sites.
“I want to assure you that Live Nation and Ticketmaster share your commitment to supporting artists and fans and protecting the integrity of the live entertainment industry,” Dan Wall, Live Nation’s executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs, wrote in the letter.
“Unfortunately, the recently filed lawsuit does not advance that shared objective. The FTC complaint presents a distorted view of the facts and the law, specifically the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act. While we would prefer to work with the FTC on addressing the real threats to the live event industry instead of litigating these claims, we look forward to setting the record straight here, and if necessary in court.”
What are Ariana Grande’s fans saying about the cancellation?
Many of Ariana Grande’s fans whose tickets were canceled took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their outrage, almost all directed at Ticketmaster.
“All my friends tickets got cancelled…” one fan said in a tweet. “Ticketmaster and team Ariana are so useless. You’re removing tickets from real fans. You should have canceled the tickets that are listed for sale… Not the ones already bought.”
Another fan said that “The fact that real fans tickets are being canceled is honestly the most disappointing thing to ever happen. We understand that you are trying to combat the issue of resellers and scalpers, which we appreciate, but if this is going to be at the expense of REAL fan tickets being voided… There must be another method.”
Is Ariana Grande touring in 2026? See Eternal Sunshine Tour dates, cities
Grande is set to tour, for the first time since 2018, for her seventh studio album, “Eternal Sunshine.” The tour is set to start in June 2026 and will end in September 2026, spanning ten cities, including Sunrise, Florida.
Here are the “Eternal Sunshine” tour dates, from Ariana Grande’s website:
- June 6, 9 and 10 – Oakland Arena in Oakland, California
- June 13 and 14 – Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
- June 17, 19 and 20 – Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California
- June 24, 26 and 27 – Moody Center in Austin, Texas
- June 30, July 2 and 3 – Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida
- July 6, 8 and 9 – State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
- July 12, 13, 16, 18 and 19 – Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
- July 22, 24 and 25 – TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
- July 28, 30 and 31 – Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- August 3, 5 and 6 – United Center in Chicago, Illinois
- Aug 15, 16, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 28, 31 and Sept. 1 – The O2 in London, United Kingdom
Can you still get tickets to Ariana Grande’s tour?
Yes; however, expect prices to be high. For example, tickets to the Sunrise dates started at $464 for seats in the upper 300 sections.
As for shows that were handled by Ticketmaster, they show a similar price range. For example, tickets to Grande’s Los Angeles shows range from $550 to $2,300 depending on the date and seat.
What happens when Ticketmaster cancels tickets? What we know about refunds, canceled tickets
In their email, Ticketmaster said that if someone felt they had been misidentified, there was a quick security check to help resolve it.
According to reports, Ticketmaster advised that anyone who received a cancellation notice should have appealed it by Oct. 20. If they did not, the tickets were permanently voided on Oct. 24, and affected accounts could face restrictions on future purchases.
