Ariana Grande fans furious after tickets “sell out” in minutes for Eternal Sunshine tour

Ariana Grande fans are feeling cheated after tickets were extremely hard to come by for the pop star’s “Eternal Sunshine Tour.“

Since presales began Tuesday, September 9, fans have flooded social media with complaints, with thousands noting that they were met with hour-long queues. In certain cities, over one million fans were in the queue. When fans were finally able to enter the sale, all tickets were “sold out.”

A general sale followed on Wednesday, September 10, and within the hour, entire shows began to sell out. Ticketmaster sent a notice that read: “tickets are very limited with few options remaining.”

Fans accused the ticketer of only releasing a limited number of tickets per date, while also calling out Grande for playing smaller venues, when her fan base and the length of time since her last tour could have easily justified larger stadium shows.

“Sold Out” or Held Back?

The rapid notification that no tickets were available as of Wednesday morning’s general sale has drawn criticism from some in the industry as likely a product of the common tactic of “holdbacks.” At least one insider has claimed that only 1,000 tickets were put to general sale by the tour promoters on primary platforms like Ticketmaster and SeatGeek, with the remaining ticket inventory either allocated to presales, or awaiting sale at a later date.

Such “holdbacks” are tickets that have been set aside by event operators, artists, or promoters, and not offered for sale to the general public. The remaining ticket inventory is slowly dripped out to the market in the time between the initial sale and the event date, keeping prices propped up because of continuing belief on the part of consumers that the event is sold out.

Grande’s fans aren’t alone; from Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter to Sleep Token and Green Day, fans have lashed-out at Ticketmaster for the same scenario. Fans trying to purchase tickets to any big-name act on Ticketmaster are stuck struggling through the ticketer’s online queue, face error codes and long-wait times. Then, when they finally reach checkout (if they ever do) those tickets are gone — or priced so high that fans just give up.

The “Eternal Sunshine Tour” kicks off June 6, 2026 at Oakland Arena in California and runs through the summer before concluding with a five-night stand at London’s O2 Arena in August. Stops include repeat shows in Austin, Sunrise, Atlanta, Montreal, and more.

Grande’s return to touring comes on the heels of her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Grande has headlined some of the world’s biggest tours, including 2017’s Dangerous Woman Tour and 2019’s Sweetener World Tour, which sold out arenas globally.

Find her full list of 2026 tour dates below:

Ariana Grande The Eternal Sunshine Tour Dates