Ticketmaster was in charge of ticketing for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games but was forced to shut down the official website for nine days back in May as customers experienced a raft of problems during the final phase of ticket sales for the Games.

Those looking to buy tickets complained of not been unable to connect their calls, or successfully purchase tickets online, while some were also charged by their phone providers for their unsuccessful attempts.

In a bid to rectify the problem, the sales process was eventually reopened with the remaining 50,000 tickets being sold on a phased basis split over three days.

Meanwhile, the sale of the first tranche of tickets for the 2015 Rugby World Cup was delayed by two weeks in May after Ticketmaster requested more time to test its system after the problems with Glasgow 2014.

It followed major complaints from the public over ticketing during the build-up to London 2012, including fans trying to buy tickets were able to click on to apparently available events but, after several minutes, were then told they had sold out. 

This was combined with long waits for many people as they tried to get on-line. 

A spokesman for Toronto 2015 told insidethegames that organisers of next year's Games are confident that similar problems will not be encountered when the first tranche of the 1.4 million tickets go on sale on September 15.

"Ticketmaster has a long history of delivering ticketing services to major Games and other events," said Teddy Katz.

"We have full confidence the public will receive the best possible service when tickets start to become available in mid-September."

Toronto 2015 organisers will be hoping Ticketmaster will not experience similar problems with its ticket selling process as those that occurred in the lead-up to Glasgow 2014 ©Getty Images













The announcement by Toronto 2015 organisers came as Live Nation was also unveiled as the official live music partner for next year's Games.

Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to form Live Nation Entertainment.

Live Nation will support Toronto 2015 by using its relationships with Canadian and international music acts for the Closing Ceremonies of the Pan American Games on July 26 and the Parapan American Games on August 15.

The company will also support the PANAMANIA festival sites that will be located at the CIBC Pan Am Park and Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto during the Games.

"Our entire team at Live Nation is pleased to join the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games as a premier partner," said John May, President of Live Nation Entertainment's Ontario region.

"Live Nation is one of the world's biggest names in entertainment and we look forward to bringing our top talent roster to the Games, matching the top athletes that will be here competing."

Commenting on the deal with Live Nation, Toronto 2015 chief executive Saäd Rafi, said "Live Nation brings unrivalled knowledge of and experience in supporting major high-profile international events to the Toronto 2015 Games.

"Not only will they help make our Closing Ceremonies must-see live events, their top-notch ticketing services are trusted and well known by the public."

The Toronto 2015 Pan American Games are due to take place from July 10 to 26, while the Parapan American Games are scheduled for August 7 to 15.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
May 2014: Delayed Glasgow 2014 ticketing process reopens with first of three sales phases
May 2014: Ticketmaster to blame again as first Rugby World Cup sales window postponed
May 2014: Glasgow 2014 "confident" problems rectified as announce phased tickets release
May 2014: Ticket sales for Glasgow 2014 to remain closed for five more days
May 2014: Glasgow 2014 admit unsuccessful customers charged "in error" as ticketing crisis continues