FEQ offers up passes from anti-scalping crackdown

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

There’s hope on the horizon for people who were unable to buy passes for the Festival d’Été de Québec (FEQ) when they quickly sold out in February.

An unspecified “limited number” of general admission passes will be made avail- able through a lottery. Those interested need to fill out a form through the FEQ website. Passes will be released for sale starting in mid-May and continuing until July 2, the day before the event begins.

In a May 7 news release, organizers said that when passes become available, they will be offered by random selection to registered participants.

The newly available passes are those recovered from anti- scalping measures and unused corporate allocations. Those who win the “lottery” can purchase up to four passes and have 48 hours to complete the transaction.

BLEUFEU, the parent company of FEQ, said in a statement, “In its ongoing commitment to fair access, BLEUFEU closely monitored transactions and flagged suspicious activity. In accordance with established procedures, some passes were recovered and will be resold at standard pricing. BLEUFEU continues to support government-led initiatives aimed at reducing ticket scalping.”

All 125,000 general admission passes for the 11-day festival were sold within three hours.

The festival lineup this year features Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Benson Boone, Def Leppard and Rod Stewart, among dozens of others. The festival runs from July 3-13.