New scheme provides people affected by the cost of living crisis with free tickets – including Parklife

A new initiative has been launched which will help people struggling with the cost of living crisis get tickets for free or heavily discounted for some of the major music, theatre and sports events in the country – including Manchester’s biggest festival, Parklife.

The nationwide Ticket Bank scheme is being rolled out by Tickets for Good, an organisation set up in 2019 to provide free tickets for charity workers and social groups.

During the pandemic, the organisation also extended their remit to NHS workers and now they are extending it further to include anyone who has received cost of living payments from the government, which, according to the Department of Work and Pensions, currently applies to around eight million people.

So far, 250,000 eligible people have registered with the platform and saved over £10million in face value tickets for huge events up and down the country.

What kind of venues are involved?

Around 80 major promoters and venues have already signed up to support the ticket scheme. These include  Tramlines (Sheffield), Truck (Oxford), Bath Festivals, and Deer Shed (North Yorkshire) festivals, venues such as the Stand Comedy Club, The Clapham Grand, The National Theatre, Harrogate Theatre, classical music groups such as the London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, and Regents Opera and sports organisations like Newcastle Thunder and Newcastle Falcons, who provided rugby tickets, and Durham County Cricket Club offered tickets for their T20 games.

The Roman Baths in Bath has also signed up, becoming the first high-profile heritage organisation to pledge involvement. Tickets for Good users have also secured gig tickets for the likes of Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, and Idles.

Closer to home, the Octagon theatre in Bolton is offering tickets to their production of Arthur Miller’s ‘A View from the Bridge.’ Parklife festival, held annually at Heaton Park, is also signed up to the scheme, which is also supported by the festival’s co-founder and Manchester’s night time economy advisor Sacha Lord.

He said: “It’s a true honour to be partnering with Tickets for Good, an organisation that helps us support a vast array of projects and people as a result. Making Parklife accessible to as many people as possible is what we’re all about.”

How does it work and who is eligible?

Registration is now open for the Ticket Bank initiative. To be eligible you must have received cost of living payments from the government and will need to provide proof of that when registering. Registration is free.

Some tickets will be free and others are heavily discounted. In some cases, you will have to pay a booking fee, but this will be no more than £3.95. Similarly, the discounted tickets will be capped at £10 maximum.

NHS staff, medical students, contractors, charity staff, and volunteers are also eligible to access free or discounted tickets via Tickets for Good.

If you represent a venue or organisation that would like to participate in the free tickets scheme, more information, including how to sign up, can be found on the Tickets for Good website.

What have the organisers said?

Steve Rimmer, Tickets for Good CEO and co-founder, said: “The cost of living crisis is having a profound effect on millions of people. Buying tickets for events is just not possible for them as they struggle to balance financial commitments. We’re delighted to help our events partners give back to the nation at large scale through free and discounted tickets.”

Jack Neville, director of ticketing and growth, added: “Life’s best moments shouldn’t be reserved for those that can afford it. Our mission is to make amazing shared experiences accessible to everyone, from hilarious comedy shows and mesmerising music gigs to the thrill of taking the family to a match day, we’re launching our Ticket Bank to help democratise the arts.”

Singer Robbie Williams recently became one of the organisation’s biggest investors. He said: “Access to the arts is a cause close to my heart – the magic of live entertainment is something everyone should be able to benefit from. So, I’m thrilled to be working with Tickets for Good as they launch the first UK-wide project to help people struggling with the cost of living crisis to access a fantastic range of events.”