How to deliver the ultimate fan experience: Reflections from 10 years in the industry
Tournaments and major events have always been a massive hit with fans everywhere. They’ve grown into jaw-dropping global events we all look forward to. And ticketing, which seems like a simple "let people in" task, has been a big part of that journey. These days, pulling off a seamless ticketing experience for top-tier major events takes flexibility, rock-solid systems, a skilled team, and top-notch cybersecurity.
How digitisation has changed the ticketing game
Back in the late ’90s, the internet shook up ticketing in a big way. Suddenly, fans could buy tickets online, skipping long lines and the hassle of physical outlets. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Popular events crashed websites, leaving fans frustrated and organisers scrambling. Then came scalping bots—automated programs hoarding tickets, shutting out real fans, and hiking up resale prices.
By the 2010s, sales processes got more convenient with mobile ticketing and digital wallets. Fans could store tickets on their phones—no more worrying about losing paper ones. But with new tech came new issues, like making systems user-friendly for less tech-savvy folks and beefing up cybersecurity. Data breaches and cyber-attacks became serious threats, making it clear that ticketing needed to be not just convenient but secure too.
‘Today, some major events have reached 100% mobile fulfilment’
Today, some major events have even reached 100% mobile fulfilment. Tournament ticketing remains the ultimate challenge, in the hands of a few very specialised providers, due to the huge scales involved. Events are often spread across multiple venues, countries, and even time zones.
Remember EURO 2020? It spanned ten countries and four time zones. There are many global tours in motorsports, sailing, golf or music with similar reach. Even one-country events have their challenges, from local legal requirements to sponsor demands. Ticketing isn’t just one team’s job—there’s a whole army of other divisions to cater for, from IT managers to marketing executives, finance leads, and legal experts. All their systems need to connect, hundreds of operators need training, and everything must run perfectly come game day, despite huge peaks in web and mobile users. No pressure, right?
So, how do you manage all that? Let’s dive into some lessons from SECUTIX’s FAN4LIFE team, who have acquired over a decade of ticketing know-how by running the largest major events and tournaments in football, tennis, and cricket.
Flexibility is key
Modern ticketing systems need to do it all to meet the needs of today’s event organisers and fans, who want multiple purchasing options, including online platforms and mobile apps. Physical outlets are sometimes also established in the venues, for those who prefer the old-school way. Systems must support various ticketing models such as ballots, first-come first-served models, group sales, fan sales, hospitality, and last-minute sales.
Inclusivity is another critical aspect of flexibility. Ticketing platforms should cater to fans with disabilities by offering user-friendly interfaces and multilingual support. Flexible payment options, such as instalment payments, vouchers, and mobile digital wallets enhance accessibility further.
Social media integration? That’s a must for spreading the word and making sharing tickets easy.
‘Ticketing platforms should cater to fans with disabilities by offering user-friendly interfaces and multilingual support’
And let’s not forget curveballs.
We’ve dealt with many unexpected situations when running major ticketing programmes, which are spread over several months before the event, giving ample time for things to change. Global major events are impacted by global geopolitical challenges —for instance a pandemic requiring a tournament to be postponed by a year, with mass refunds issued for every match. We’ve also had to deal with matches moved to new countries, a change of stadium a few days before a match, after tickets had been sold, a change of payment service provider a week before a major sales launch, and a special ballot ran for the Chinese market at a new sponsor’s request. You need a very strong engineering team to cope with such events. Flexibility is a lifesaver.
Stability: The backbone of ticketing operations
A stable ticketing platform is essential for handling high-demand scenarios, especially during marquee events like a FIFA World Cup or a UEFA EURO tournament. Such events often attract millions of fans attempting to purchase tickets simultaneously. Stability is the backbone of handling that kind of demand. Load-balanced servers, scalable cloud setups, and thorough stress tests are non-negotiable.
Ticketing traffic is very uneven and show huge peaks when tickets are released, more so when a sale is advanced ahead of time. Traffic in search engines shows peak of web users looking for tickets during major events (Figure 1), but on the ticketing systems themselves it is even more extreme: traffic can be multiplied by several orders of magnitude within seconds.
Handling such shocks is no easy task.
Freeze periods and strict change control are introduced during the event period to minimise the risk of inadvertently making things worse when trying to do better. It’s often preferable to work around unexpected small issues than risk stalling the engine completely.
A crash during peak sales? That’s a recipe for disaster, with potential fan frustration, revenue loss, and reputational damage. Event organisers need to trust that the system can handle the heat. Such confidence is best built up through experience. Simulating high-demand scenarios helps pinpoint system weaknesses before the real deal. For instance, creating a virtual army of simulated bots purchasing tickets on the sales platform is a very necessary task for the ticketing system provider, as this provides crucial end-to-end load tests of the platform under the most realistic conditions possible. You often need to test, optimise, and repeat several times, until you get the setup exactly right.
‘Simulating high-demand scenarios helps pinpoint system weaknesses before the real deal’
Once sales are launched, ticketing system providers must prioritise continuous monitoring and proactive maintenance to avoid disruptions. Imagine a major event where 3 million tickets are issued: if a tiny fraction of tickets are discovered on match day to have an issue, say 0.1%, that still equates to 3,000 tickets that need treating specifically. The workload involved could be significant, and hinder venue access. Early detection and deep analysis of edge cases really help to facilitate operations.
A schematic overview of the SECUTIX major event ticketing architecture is shown in Figure 2 – it’s a sophisticated bit of kit that runs in the cloud, across multiple high-performance data centres. It’s integrated into a large ecosystem of other systems specific to each client, such as CRM systems, data mining solutions, or local authorities who need to keep an eye out for trouble. When ticket sales start, information flows in and out of the ticket sales core engine. Its heart collects and distributes massive amounts of data from all the fans on their mobile phones purchasing and transferring tickets. This is filtered and distributed to the partners in near real time. The data collected from every fan is a powerful tool for marketing campaigns and sales activities to increase revenues.
The role of staff in ticketing operations
Ticketing systems are only as good as the people running the show. You don’t exactly go to school to learn ticketing operations—it’s all picked up on the job. That’s why having experienced staff and a focus on constant improvement are super important.
Running ticket sales isn’t easy. It takes dedication and a lot of attention to detail. For smaller events, it’s all about building a strong brand and nailing your online marketing. For the major ones, the challenge is managing fan expectations and avoiding a flood of disappointment from those who miss out. Plus, filling up the stands isn’t equally tough every day—it depends on the line-ups and the tournament stage. A single-inventory ticketing system is key, but staff still need to juggle tickets across target groups and adjust quotas as sales roll in. The ability to shift seats between hospitality and general public sections or between distributors and agents really helps to sell out. Packages, promos, and add-ons are also key to maximising revenue.
‘Packages, promos, and add-ons are key to maximising revenue’
The number of strategic calls ticketing leaders must make is mind-blowing. There are so many outside factors to juggle—venue constraints, sponsor demands, and broadcaster needs, to name a few. That’s why a strong project management team is vital. They’ve got to gather info on time and factor in all those constraints before locking in critical decisions about sales, setups, and quotas. Large organisations involved in running tournaments and major events sometimes struggle in this respect, leading to late decisions and increased risks.
Once tickets go on sale, the pressure is even higher. Customer service reps field fan questions and escalate tough cases, while tech teams swoop in to address any tough queries in real time. It’s not just about selling tickets, though. You’ve got to make sure fans show up and know what to expect. A comms team needs to keep them in the loop about travel, security rules, and anything else they need to know to enter the venue safely. Reminders are a must for things like guest registration or ticket transfers, and a mobile app with instant notifications is a lifesaver for real-time updates.
And let’s not forget the volunteers or casual staff working the venues. Training is everything—they need to know the systems inside out and keep their cool under pressure. That means mastering the ticketing software, handling special cases, and dealing with fans who have legitimate problems while staying firm with those trying to game the system. A well-trained team makes the whole operation smoother and keeps fans happy.
Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect
Rehearsals are a game-changer. Once the platform is ready, operations are best practiced through live events. A small-scale warm-up event is a great way to practice before the tournament or major event properly starts. This could be a concert one of the venues, part of the tickets sold for a different event in one of the venues, or a short tournament with a smaller attendance. The important aspects of the rehearsal are that the same ticketing systems are used, the key new processes are included, and the operations are run by the same staff, who then acquire hands-on experience in managing ticketing operations under pressure.
On match day, clear communication and smooth teamwork between ticketing staff, venue managers, and security teams ensure fans get in without a hitch. Organisers should establish clear protocols for entry management, ticket scanning, and get ready to address any technical or logistical issues promptly.
‘Measures like integrating with a top-notch bot protection system, communication encryption, multi-factor authentication, and real-time monitoring are essential’
Cybersecurity is a big deal.
With everything going digital, keeping ticketing systems secure is more important than ever. Cybercriminals love targeting big events with high demand, as this opens the door for juicy profits. An example is shown in Figure 3 where criminal activity is found by mining data collected by the ticketing platform. Measures like integrating with a top-notch bot protection system, communication encryption, multi-factor authentication, and real-time monitoring are essential.
Fans also need tips on staying safe—like buying tickets from official sites and dodging scams. A secure system doesn’t just protect data; it keeps the event’s reputation intact too.
Event day operations
On event days, it is necessary to have near real time integrations with access control systems in the venues allow ticketing and security managers to monitor spectators entering the venues, as shown in Figure 4. Filling a stadium or another big venue can take several hours, so gates always open well before the action starts. Keeping an eye on the ingress flow rate is important to make sure the fans will all get inside in good time. Difficulties can arise from issues with ticket scanning at the turnstiles, but also from security checks or congestion at certain gates.
‘It is necessary to have near real time integrations with access control systems in the venues allow ticketing’
Visualising where spectators congregate geographically can help to pinpoint difficulties access the venues. In a tournament, when a fan walk is organised by one of the teams playing, a heavy influx of guests can be expected at the gates. Getting advance warning helps to reassign staff in consequence.
During the event period, all hands need to be on deck, and long work hours often a necessity. When you’re not running and monitoring access control operations to let spectators enter venues, you’re selling new batches of tickets night and day to the public, or for a tournament, to fans of the teams who have qualified for the knock-out stages.
Closing play
Working in ticketing for major events and tournaments is exhilarating, with diverse teams, from operations to technology, all collaborating to deliver unforgettable experiences. It’s a thrill when sales are launched successfully and when you see a full stadium of happy fans. The fast-paced environment offers constant challenges and opportunities to innovate, keeping the work exciting and rewarding.
Major event ticketing is about being flexible, stable, well-staffed, prepared, and secure. Get these pieces right, and you’ll deliver a smooth, stress-free experience for fans while keeping everything running like clockwork. If ticketing stays out of the news, then it’s usually the sign of a job well done! Staying innovative and learning from past challenges ensures fans keep coming back for more.
If you’re involved in tournaments or other major events and have got questions or comments about ticketing, then our experts would love to hear from you and are happy to talk.