BRISBANE, Australia — In what’s being pitched as a queue-buster for vaccinated music fans, Australian ticketing giant Ticketek unveils a digital solution that pulls up everything needed for entry into a venue, all on your device.
Announced Tuesday (Nov. 2), this Australian-built, “world-first” solution, says Geoff Jones, CEO of Ticketek parent TEG, will allow consumers to “return faster and safer to venues to watch their favorite artists and sporting events,” by enabling them to verify ticket and vaccination status with a few taps of their device.
The check-in upgrade gets its first proper consumer trial from this Thursday, beginning with the Kennedy Oaks Day at Flemington Racecourse, through a partnership with the Victorian government.
With that particular experience, guests at Ticketek venues can verify their check-in and vaccination status at bag check, by way of a deep-link into the Service Victoria app.
The one-stop will be rolled out across Ticketek venues in other Australian states in the coming weeks, a spokesman confirms, and concerts will come on line in due course.
Ticketek’s upgrade is a timely one. Restrictions are currently being eased across New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s two biggest states, after their respective populations nudged past the 80 per cent double-dose vaccination milestone.
By hitting those big benchmarks, state officials have promised more freedoms, and, hopefully, more tours and concerts without the menace of snap lockdowns and capacity restrictions.
Separately, on Tuesday, the NSW government announced further easing of rules for those who are fully-vaccinated. From Nov. 8, double-jabbed music fans can party on the basis of 1 person per 2 sqm rule, compared with 1 person per 4 sqm, and nightclubs will be able to re-open dancefloors.
Prior to the pandemic, Ticketek processed about 23 million tickets across Australia each year for more than 20,000 events.
The ticketing business also operates in the U.K., New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia, and its sister companies include promoters TEG Live, TEG Dainty, TEG MJR, TEG Van Egmond, Laneway Festival, Handsome Tours, and west Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.
Parent TEG was acquired in 2019 by investment company Silver Lake.
