Girls Aloud have failed to sell out their three nights at the 02 Arena. The shows, which started last night and finish at the venue on Thursday, have availability in almost all areas of the stadium according to ticket sellers AXS.
It is particularly disappointing as – on the other side of London – Taylor Swift has just enjoyed a stupendous run of sold out shows in Wembley.
The band slashed the price of tickets by up to two thirds late last week in a bid to sell the remaining seats for their reunion.
Although some fans – who had paid over £100 – were angered to see tickets on sale for £30, a large number of tickets were sold over the weekend for the 02 shows. As of this morning, the cheapest ticket on sale for tonight costs just £21.38.
Maps of the London stadium on all three nights shows that you could pretty much pick any part to sit in to see the comeback tour of the group, known for hits including Love Machine, Something Kinda Oooh and Sound of the Underground.
Sales are particularly soft for The Girls Aloud Show today, with some areas appearing to be only around 60 per cent sold.
The group, featuring Cheryl Tweedy, 40, Nicola Roberts, 38, Nadine Coyle, 42 and Kimberly Walsh, 38, reunited for the first time since bandmate Sarah Harding died of cancer in 2021.
The tour started in Dublin in May. The 30 date tour has included shows in Manchester, Cardiff, Nottingham, Leeds and Birmingham and heads to Liverpool at the end of June.
The group was formed in 2002 on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals show with Pete Waterman, Geri Halliwell and Louis Walsh choosing the final line-up.
They sold over 4 million albums in the UK and achieved four number ones with two albums at no 1 as well. They were also nominated for five BRIT awards. The band split in 2013.
Cheryl told the crowd in Birmingham that Shakira’s Waka Waka – played during the warm-up – was a special tribute to Sarah Harding.
She said: ‘That was Sarah’s favourite song when she was going through all of her stuff. It’d get her up dancing and singing, she’d be on Face Time.
‘It made us so happy to see her happy in those darker times so we wanted the spirit of Sarah to start right at the very beginning, and the next best bit is when we hear you guys roar, there’s nothing better than that sound.’
Sarah Harding died in September 2021 aged 39 after being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in 2020.
The group has since raised over £1 million for cancer charities including the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal.
Kimberly Wyatt said: ‘One of the main aims on this tour is to do Sarah justice and give us and our fans that moment to celebrate her. I think they need it, I think we all need it.’