The Wanted concert thrown into chaos

The Wanted's upcoming concert in celebration of the London Olympics has been thrown into chaos due to a major ticketing blunder.

The British pop group is due to perform a free gig in Birmingham, England next month (Jun12) to mark the arrival of the Olympic torch relay in the city ahead of the upcoming 2012 Games.

Fans were encouraged to apply for the free tickets via a ballot, but a technical error meant everyone who put their name on the list was sent an email to confirm they had been successful, when only 20,000 free tickets for the concert are actually available.

Executives at the ticket distribution company Ticketmaster have now been forced to cancel all of the confirmations and launch another ballot.

A Ticketmaster spokesman tells the BBC, "Due to a data processing error, Ticketmaster incorrectly advised all customers who had entered the ballot for tickets to the London 2012 Olympic torch relay special city celebration in Birmingham that they were winners in the ballot.

"All customers who originally entered the ballot have been informed of the error and that all tickets previously claimed have been invalidated. In the interests of fairness to all applicants the ballot has now been declared void."

The gig will take place at Birmingham's Cannon Hill Park on 30 June (12).