Sunday, March 27, 2016

World Cup Ticketing Update

The IQA has announced on its website, in response to a Facebook posting this afternoon intended to organize travel to Frankfurt for UK-based spectators, that this summer’s World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany will be an event that is “almost certainly going to [have] limited tickets,” said Tournament Director Matthew Guenzel in a comment on a post in the “UK Quidditch” Facebook group.

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Alex Harrison (Disclosure: Harrison is a staffer for the Quidditch Post) posted in the Facebook group this morning to start a Facebook group for non-players to travel to Germany. In a comment response, Guenzel stated, “Heads up - I would be careful about booking things this far in advance. Look, sure, but there almost certainly going to be limited tickets to the event and I’d [hate] for someone to have booked flights and then not be able to come.”

Subsequent comments and posts in other groups including those in Europe and Australia confirmed that numerous individuals were planning on attending the tournament outside of playing and volunteering and that many had already booked travel. 

Following the Facebook thread, as promised in the thread, the IQA released a statement citing the size of the facility and public safety concerns for the limited number of tickets. The organization has also clarified:

“Tickets will be released in waves; with the first wave being released on the World Cup website on April 20th, the second wave being released on May 4th, and the third wave being released on May 18th. In some cases, limited tickets may be available outside these release dates as part of publicity campaigns and fundraisers. These tickets will be extremely limited and should not be relied upon.”

In response to comments bemoaning the situation, Guenzel has invited individuals to reach out to him at wc2016.guenzel@gmail.com. Ashara Peiris (Disclosure: Peiris is a staffer for the Quidditch Post) did so inquiring about the number of tickets and the process for volunteers. Guenzel responded in an email that Peiris published to Facebook:

Thanks for reaching out. I’m not currently in a position of being able to let you know how many tickets will be available - I’m still waiting to hear back from the facility in regards to some fire regulations. We will be releasing a document later this week that will explain the various packages available and the distribution process, but it will be first come first served.

Volunteer signups will hopefully be released in the next two weeks. We should let people know a week or so after signups close if they have been selected.”

The event marks the first in Europe to require tickets.

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