UK Gig Goers Face Rising Ticket Fees Including Restoration Charges and Service Levies
Ticket buyers for UK gigs are increasingly encountering multiple fees that significantly raise the cost of attending live events. For example, Gorillaz tickets for their June 2026 show at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium included a £1 restoration fee, which was also applied to tickets for shows at Co-op Live in Manchester. This restoration fee is a Live Trust donation routed via the Music Venue Trust to support smaller grassroots venues. Initially, the Gigantic promoter stated the fee supported grassroots venues and later updated their site to reflect this purpose.
However, the ticket platform used charged a total of 13% in fees—10% booking fee plus an additional 3%—on top of the listed prices, increasing the total per-ticket cost by about £3. Kilimanjaro Live acknowledged this site error and assured affected buyers they would receive a refund of the difference. Independent venues such as Clapham Grand in London and Saint Luke’s in Glasgow now publish detailed breakdowns showing what their fees fund and how they are used.
Research by Which? and other organizations shows that a variety of fees—including delivery, transaction, booking, service, and order processing charges—can add up to approximately 25% of ticket costs. A notable example from July 2026 shows three tickets to Pitbull’s BST Hyde Park trip costing £329.85 before fees, rising to £373.35 after adding a £3 transaction fee, a £3 sustainability levy, and a £37.50 service fee.
The 2025 Music Fans’ Voice survey revealed that only 35% of respondents were aware of all charges before checkout, and just 34% understood what each fee was for. In response, the UK Competition and Markets Authority has launched a major consumer protection initiative focusing on online pricing. They are investigating eight companies, including StubHub and Viagogo, for possible drip pricing practices, although no findings have been announced yet.
