Nicholas Mc

Sometimes I do things. Sometimes I tell the internet about it.

[itsnicholasmc]

Competitions, Comebacks, and a Coronation: 5 Things to be excited about in 2023

Deciding that two years of dragging ourselves through a pandemic wasn’t enough, the year 2022 said: "Hold my beer" and gave us the war in Ukraine, a cost of living crisis, more strikes than my ten-pin bowling game will ever see, and of course, the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

We did get to enjoy the Lionesses brought football home at least. However, it is easy to feel cynical in times like these, but don’t despair.

Let's challenge the doom and gloom of the world with five things we should be excited about in 2023.

1. Peter Kay’s Tour Continues.  After his emotional return to the stage in early December of 2022, the creator and star of Phoenix Nights and Carpool, will continue his tour of the UK. He will begin the New year at Liverpool M&S Bank Arena before visiting other cities, including Glasgow, Belfast, London, and many more.

Although tickets have been difficult to buy, do not fret, maybe you can get tickets for his shows in the Year 3000. I’m sure Busted mentioned it in their 2002 hit. 

2. Eurovision comes to Liverpool. Sam Ryder’s Spaceman saw the UK finish in its best position since 1998 (Imaani - Where are you?). The UK finish second for a record 16th time, losing out to Ukraine. The winners usually host the following year’s events, but with the current war in Ukraine, the UK has been honored to host in 2023. Enter Liverpool. After putting forward a strong bid, Liverpool, the home of The Beatles was selected as the city to host the event in May. 

Allez Allez Allez for the UK Entry?

3. King Charles III Coronation In September 2022 the UK was in national mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth !!, thus bringing her glorious reign, which spanned over seven decades, to an end. This means King Charles has taken the reins and his coronation, with Camilla as Queen Consort, will take place in early May at Westminster Abbey.

Just remember to sing God Save the King from now on.

4. The Lionesses Take on the World.  The Euro'scame home in 2022 when the Lionesses defeated Germany i nthe final, 2-1. Goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly sealed the result. Legends were made in the Euro's, particularly Sports Personality of the Year winner: Beth Mead.

This time, Lionesses will travel down under for the Fifa World Cup with the hope and faith of the country behind them. Sarina Weigman remains unbeaten as England Head Coach since taking over the role in September 2021. 

Can she continue her global dominance in July and bring the World Cup home? This is a definite must-watch in 2023.

5. The Doctor is… Who? Okay, this one could just be me geeking out, but David Tennant is reprising his role as Doctor Who for three episodes in November before handing over to Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa.

Russell T. Davies, the man who brought Doctor Who back onto our screens in 2005 before leaving in 2010 will also return as the show runner and we are all buzzing with anticipation. Since his departure we have seen two show-runners (Steve Moffat and Chris Chibnall) and three Doctors (Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker).

Whatever your thoughts on their performances save them for a Reddit or Twitter thread, there will be no conflict here.

And there you have it, five things to be excited about in 2023. Are you happy with the list? Did I miss something? Did I add something I shouldn’t have? Let me know in the comments below.

Oh… and have an amazing year.

[itsnicholasmc]

Touts Out! How Twickets is changing the landscape of ticket resale

As Twickets’ growth smashes 1.5 million visitors in 2022 and gross revenues soar by 140% compared to pre-covid, it is no surprise that popular Stockport-based band, Blossoms, has joined Twickets’ already prominent list of partners, including George Ezra, Ed Sheeran, and Adele.

The ticket resale revolution began in 2011 on Twitter as “@Twickets” by London-based web designer and music fan, Richard Davies, to combat empty seats in “sold out” gigs. Just over a decade later and Twickets has evolved into a formidable business that has changed how we do ticket resale.

Pre-2011 saw music-lovers, theatre-enthusiasts and sport-goers ripped off by resale prices in the secondary ticket market. The resale industry was unsympathetic to fans that cancelled their plans due to unforeseen circumstances but did not want their ticket going to waste.

It meant empty seats in shows that were supposedly “sold out”. However, this left a gap in the market for an ethical fan-to-fan ticket resale service, and Mr Davies delivered.  

Initially using twitter to connect fans, his idea was to resell tickets at face value or less; within two years, Twickets resold 45,000 spare tickets. 

A movement had begun and was quickly gathering momentum. With the introduction of an easy to navigate website, locating events became simpler; be it sport, music, or theatre and arts, the internal search engine allows the user to find specific events by name, date, and location. 

With the added features of a Live Ticket Stream and allowing users to set up alerts that ping straight to their phone, Twickets continued to grow and new partnerships forged with influential artists and companies like Spice Girls and Gigs and Tours.

Twickets has forced a change in the industry despite rivals adopting similar models like a dynamic pricing program. Twickets still remain the only service that can resell any ticket to any event, anywhere. 

Fan-to-fan interaction is encouraged through Twitter with prompts for friendly, nostalgic conversation while updating them on the latest available tickets or to draw attention to those pesky touts. 

Their frequent informative blog keeps the fans in the know with current developments and new partnerships and has resulted in Twickets seeing over 300k tickets listed in Q2 this year.

The “Events Near You” feature - available on their app and website - promotes last-minute tickets in the user’s immediate vicinity. Also, the buyer can “Make an Offer” on the original selling price, preventing tickets from going to waste. 

Twickets reached three million new users in 2019 and ticketed over 25,000 events, with over 60% of their transactions made within the last week before a show takes place.

Since 2019 the app has been downloaded over 100k times while transactions have risen by 30%.

WHAT NEXT?

With the international market looking for resale reform, Twickets, having doubled its revenue in international territories - particularly in mainland Europe - is looking to expand into Germany and France.  Change is happening. Twickets is showing it can be done by putting fans and artists first.

What are your thoughts? Have you had a bad experience with ticket resale? Tell your story in the comments below.