If you were stuck in line outside BC Place for tonight’s U2 concert, you might have worried the show would start with or without you.
Thousands of people were stuck outside the arena Friday evening, trying to get into the stadium before U2 hit the stage for the kickoff of their 2017 Joshua Tree tour.
Twitter came alive around 6:30 p.m. with concertgoers complaining to BC Place that they were stuck in a line they can’t get out of, calling the event’s organization “horrendous.”
Some commented on a new credit card system the stadium and Ticketmaster has implemented in which customers who bought credit card entry tickets had to present their card at the gates in order to gain entry. It is a new system designed to prevent scalping.
Guests with general admission tickets had only one gate to enter the stadium while guests with seated tickets had only four gates.
With opening act Mumford & Sons set to walk on the stage at 7:30 p.m., thousands outside were quickly realizing they’d miss the first performance.
Other fans were already calling for refunds on social media.
Global News reporter Samantha Falk was still outside BC Place waiting to get inside just five minutes before Mumford & Sons began playing.
According to Falk, the entire area surrounding the stadium was flooded with people and lines that had barely inched in over 30 minutes.
“I’m pissed,” one man in line told Falk. “It’s totally frustrating. Let us in. Seriously.”
“It could have been better planned,” another concertgoer said. “Even though they said on the website to get there at 5:30 p.m., Vancouverites do not show up early. It makes sense to be prepared and assume that everybody will show up between 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m. – that’s the way it should be.”
Other people say construction at the stadium is causing confusion on how to access certain gates.
BC Place largely stayed mum on social media, only saying in a brief tweet at 9 p.m. that fans would all be inside before U2 came on:
The Vancouver Police Department even weighed in, asking fans to “please be patient.”
But by 9:20 p.m., the band had finally taken the stage, kicking off their world tour with “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
According to social media reports, many people had finally made it inside by that point. Some even went so far as to say the stadium just let people in and didn’t even bother to check tickets in the end.
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