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Wembley Stadium Partners With Tixngo On Mobile Tickets
England’s Wembley Stadium has announced a mobile ticketing partnership with blockchain ticketing solution Tixngo, for the summer concert season.
The partnership between the 90,000-capacity stadium and the ticketing solution developed by the people behind Secutix will launch with Ed Sheeran’s five nights at Wembley, starting June 24.
Blockchain ticketing operators like Tixngo have long-since been explaining how blockchain technology may help eliminate ticket fraud thanks to the decentralized nature of blockchains, where everything registered, including tickets, receives a unique code. Pollstar has been all over the topic since 2017.
See: Tackling Ticketing With Blockchain Technology
Tixngo operates in the same way, creating “a unique, encrypted ticket for smartphones that is verified [on the blockchain], removing the risk of counterfeit tickets. Wembley ticket holders will be able to securely download, transfer, keep, or assign a ticket to a guest at any point,” the partnership announcement between Wembley and Tixngo states.
Once fans buy a ticket to a summer event at Wembley Stadium, they need to add it to their Wembley mobile ticket app, much like the online check in process for airlines. As with airlines, the ability to add the ticket to the Wembley app will be activated a point in time prior to each event. The app serves as their wallet, from which they can transfer and reassign tickets, in case they cannot make the gig.
Pollstar wanted to know if this move was the first step toward 100% mobile ticketing for Wembley Stadium? Paul Smyth, head of event operations at Wembley Stadium, said “we are definitely on a journey to phase out paper tickets, but as a multi-purpose venue, with multiple event owners and event types, it’s a little more complicated.”
According to Smyth, “the delivery of digital tickets over the summer with this partnership will provide us with valuable insight and inform on decisions for our future direction of travel.”
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Tixngo is used by other major stadiums and events, including Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and the Stade de France in Paris. The ticketing solution was also successfully deployed at scale by UEFA at the Euros in 2021.
Smyth said, “We wanted a cutting edge secure mobile solution which could service all of our different types of events, both sporting and non-sporting ones. Tixngo provides us with exactly this, creating a safe and seamless ticketing experience for all fans.”
David Hornby, Tixngo UK MD, added, “Integrating ticketing with the wider digital ecosystem has become a critical part of achieving a stadium’s digital ambitions. We are excited to work with Paul, his team and Wembley’s other technology partners to deliver a next generation fan experience for all those visiting this most iconic of stadiums.”