I bought Sabrina Carpenter tickets during pre-sale - here’s what I could have also spent nearly £300 on

• Pre-sales have commenced for Sabrina Carpetner’s eagerly anticipated 2025 UK tour.
• But much talk ahead of general tickets going on sale centres around the cost once again to see her live.
• Benjamin Jackson takes a look at how much it cost him to get a pre-sale ticket, and what he could have spent the money on instead.

She is considered the current Queen-in-waiting for Taylor Swift’s pop megastar throne, but Sabrina Carpenter’s 2025 UK tour has already seen its fair share of critics. 

Namely, the complaints about the “Espresso” singer aren’t regarding her performances, but instead the age-old problem of ticket prices; and how they are almost on par, if not more, than tickets to see Taylor Swift. 

One only has to take a passing glance at the r/ukpopculture chat on Reddit to see the dismay regarding how much pre-sale tickets through O2 Priority cost, which despite the complaints has sold out as of writing.

Of the top comments, many Redditors made comparisons to other events in the United Kingdom, with many quick to point out that the ticket prices for the London event alone are nearly the price of a weekend ticket to Glastonbury. 

“I paid £300 for Beyonce. But my friend and I were pretty close to the stage. Sabrina hasn't got enough songs worth the £300,” the top comment in the thread read, while many others upvoted a comment regarding Glastonbury prices almost becoming solely for “the elite” - whomever that might be.

So is the complaining about Sabrina Carpenter ticket prices just this week’s musical “cause celebre,” or are we reaching a point now where tickets to see big-name acts are becoming more and more untenable in a cost of living crisis?

Guess there’s only one way to find out; let me dig out my accountant’s visor and dust off the old ledgers to see if it’s true - and what you could spend that ticket price on during the remainder of the year. 

How much are tickets to see Sabrina Carpenter on her UK tour?

Well - I missed out on getting pre-sale tickets through O2 Priority to see Sabrina Carpenter in London, which screengrabs on Reddit show were going for £234.70. The closest venue to me, being in Leeds, would be her performance at the Co-op Live in Manchester on March 13 2024.

Thankfully for me, there were still tickets on offer ahead of both the remaining pre-sales to commence this week and finally, the general ticket sales happening on Friday (July 26 2024.) 

Unfortunately for me, my options were either £291.40 for a “Sweet Seated” Package, or for the pleasure of standing for a few hours £348.40 for the “Sabrina Preshow Party Standing Package.”

Ok - maybe I’ve missed out in Manchester. What about the rest of her tour dates? Let’s try for her show at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham instead. As I waited to make my way through the virtual queue (similar to when Taylor Swift tickets first went on sale), I soon discovered I was in line with 3142 people. 

Patience not being one of my strongest virtues, I tried for her show at the OVO Hydro instead, only to find that those tickets had also been exhausted. So £291.40 later, I’m thankful it’s nearly payday and have a lot of explaining to my significant other to do. 

Despite the complaints online, people are still picking up the tickets despite the pricing. 

How do ticket prices to Sabrina Carpenter compare with other UK events in 2024?

Well, that’s the £291.40 question; what could I have spent my money on this year to see instead of Sabrina Carpenter in Manchester?

Well, I could have been seated to see Taylor Swift during her “Era’s” performance in London, which had the price of £194 for tickets or if my old bones were up for it £172 for standing on the resellers market. 

For an extra £34 I could have bought a weekend ticket to Leeds Festival, including camping, which is currently on sale at face value for £325.00 through Ticketmaster; that’s three whole days of music instead of a few hours. 

£253 would have got me three standing tickets to see Foo Fighters during their most recent UK tour, with the pricing for their show in Manchester being £84.40 (not including booking fees), while I could take nine of my friends to see AEW All In at Wembley Stadium for the same price.

Admittedly they are nosebleed seats, but that’s ten tickets for the price of one Sabrina Carpenter pre-sale, “Sweet Seated” deal that I’m now regretting I bought. 

If we want to go wild with the price comparisons, I could fly out to Paris for five days during the summer holidays and it would cost me £204.00 through Jet2 Holidays, with around £90 left for accommodation. 

You may ask “What about spending money,” to which I will respond “What about spending money in Manchester for Sabrina Carpenter? That merchandise isn’t cheap, you know.”

Where is Sabrina Carpenter performing during her 2025 UK tour?

Undeterred? Well, Sabrina Carpenter brings her “Short ‘n’ Sweet” tour to the following UK venues on the following dates in 2025:

• March 6 2025: Utilita Arena, Birmingham
• March 8 2025: The O2, London
• March 11 2025: OVO Hydro, Glasgow
• March 13 2025: Co-op Live, Manchester (see you there!)

I still want to go - when are tickets going on sale?

Still undeterred? Fair enough - those all-important on-sale dates for Sabrina Carpenter are:

Pre-sale access

O2 Priority, Album and Artist pre-sale tickets are currently on sale, while Live Nation pre-sale tickets go on sale July 25 2025 at 10am BST.

General sales

General ticket sales to see Sabrina Carpenter on her UK tour are set to go on sale on July 26 2024 from 10am through Ticketmaster - and given that her US tour has completely sold out, expecting a virtual queue. 

Have you, or would you, ever spend more than £250 on a ticket to a concert, sporting event or music festival? Are you of an age when you can remember Leeds Festival camping tickets being just over £100? Share your memories, thoughts or surprise at ticket prices by commenting down below or dropping the writer an email at [email protected].