Raye's Royal Albert Hall show hit by 1.8M fake sign-ups

Global superstar Raye has announced a dramatic shift in ticketing for her upcoming one-off show at the Royal Albert Hall, after 1.8 million sign-ups overwhelmed the system. The event, titled This Symphony May Contain Hope, is set for October 23 and features her band, The Heritage Orchestra, and the Flames Collective choir ^[1]. With only 5,000 seats available, the scale of the response was unprecedented.

Raye revealed that the sign-up process was flooded by AI bots used by ticket touts to create hundreds of thousands of fake registrations ^[2]. The BRIT-award winner said she had never witnessed bots on this scale before, describing the situation as a wake-up call for the industry ^[1].

To ensure fair access, Raye and her team decided against a traditional presale, fearing scalpers would exploit it. Instead, they will manually review the sign-up list to identify a shortlist of genuine fans ^[1]. Selected individuals will receive a presale link and code via email on Tuesday at 11:45am BST, with presale opening at noon ^[2].

The remaining tickets will be available to the public on general sale ^[2]. Raye expressed concern over the future of ticketing, stating she and her team are now deeply considering long-term solutions ^[1].

The concert will feature a symphonic reimagining of her 2023 album, This Music May Contain Hope, which blends jazz, blues, soul, and big band influences. The record, a concept album about overcoming heartbreak and online abuse, earned critical acclaim and a record-breaking six Brit Awards ^[2].

Fans have responded with strong support online, calling for legal oversight of ticketing and demanding in-person sales as a solution to the ongoing bot problem ^[1]. The story was first reported by Mirror and BBC News.