After two hours, the 125,000 general admission passes for the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) were already sold out. However, a large number of these passes are now found at exorbitant and dishonest prices on resale sites such as Marketplace, billet.ca and 514-billets.com. Sanctions or fines should be undertaken to counter these usurpers.
The FEQ has made numerous efforts to restrict this form of fraud, among other things by a limit of four tickets per transaction and by a clear indication on the official site: “The resale of Festival passes is strictly prohibited. However, that hasn’t stopped the sites, which claim to be reselling intermediaries, and individuals from taking advantage of music lovers.
Initially priced at $140 for 11 days, general admission “passes” have doubled or even quadrupled in price with resale and daily rentals.
The FEQ is funded at 13% by the City of Quebec, the provincial and federal governments. In other words, it is funded, in part, by taxpayers’ money. In short, this funding intended for the entertainment of the population and the culture of music benefits the wallets of criminals.
Coming out of a pandemic and with costs constantly rising, the FEQ was an opportunity for music fans to be entertained at a respectable price. However, with the resale and rental of festival passes, many individuals will have to wait until next year to have access to the culture of music.
What would the future be like if everything we consume was constantly bought by anyone and then resold at exorbitant prices? Together, let’s be honest and supportive Quebecers!