Rolling Stones ticket sales server crashes minutes after box office opens

The websites for the promoters, Doctor Music and the main official sales channel, Ticketmaster, began selling seats for the Stones' show on September 27 in the Catalunya city at 10.00 this morning (Tuesday), but by 10.02, fans found they were locked out of the system with an error message.

Sources from Doctor Music say the sales process is 'a bit slower than usual' because of a new procedure whereby all tickets must carry the full name of the spectator, and nobody is allowed to buy more than eight.

This is to prevent the ongoing resales scams, where unauthorised sales platforms or touts bulk-buy from official channels and then sell tickets on at hugely inflated prices.

Even without the unlawful price hike added on by unregistered touts, ticket prices to watch the Stones in Barcelona come in at between €86 and €290, plus admin and delivery costs.

Stones fever is hotting up, given that the veteran band will only perform one concert in Spain as part of its Stones-No Filter autumn tour.

As well as Barcelona's Olympic Stadium, the band will be on stage in several European venues in September and October, the latest leg in its world tour following on from Latin America last year, which culminated in an historic show in La Habana, Cuba.