Anger as fans say Coronation concert ballot 'misleading'

Fans who applied to attend the Coronation Concert have been left disappointed after being informed they had won tickets, only to find they had all gone.

Thousands posted angry messages on Twitter after the final pairs from the last of three ballots were issued on a first-come first-served basis.

They had been told they had until 27 April to claim their tickets.

Ticketmaster said tickets in the first two rounds were guaranteed.

The Coronation Concert is being held in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 7 May. Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie are among the stars performing.

Ticketmaster allocated the tickets, and the event is organised by the BBC.

A Ticketmaster spokeswoman told the BBC: "Everyone who was successful in the two main ballot rounds for the Coronation Concert was offered a guaranteed pair of tickets, provided they claimed them within three weeks.

"Today, any unclaimed tickets were released on a first-come, first-served basis to those who had previously applied to the ballot and were unsuccessful. These inevitably went very quickly."

But fans reacted angrily on Twitter, saying the email they received was far from clear.

James Westwood told the BBC: "It's just been a bit misleading really".

"I think I applied in February sometime. I completely forgot about it and then got this email today, while I am at work, just saying 'Congratulations, you're successful in the ballot'.

"I was ecstatic, I sent a screenshot of it to my girlfriend, and she was like: 'Are you sure that's even real?' I went to go and claim the tickets and there was nothing there to claim. So, I went from very high to suddenly very low."

Another fan tweeted: "I received an email from Ticketmaster this morning congratulating me on successfully being allocated two tickets following the ballot. It stated I have until 12:00 27 April to claim before they get released. I was obviously delighted, clicked the link to claim.

"Ticketmaster then seemed to fail and has since displayed an ongoing message: 'Tickets are currently unavailable from Ticketmaster. We're unable to find tickets right now, please try again later.'"

Another said: "What a shambles. Received email to say I'd been successful in the ballot... Click the link and it says sold out!"

The original BBC ballot rules stated the tickets would not be allocated on a first-come first-served basis, however it did point out any unclaimed tickets would be re-allocated.

The BBC has been approached for comment.