Mexico's president just asked Bad Bunny to play a free concert. Here's why
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MEXICO CITY — Mexico's president asked Bad Bunny to consider performing for free in the capitol's main plaza, the Zócalo in Mexico City, in response to many being duped out of attending his recent concert due to a fake ticket scandal.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he couldn’t offer the singer any money, but the government would pay for the lights, stage and sound system, and even install a zip line at the capital’s huge main central plaza.
“I know he is tired, but I ask him to consider the possibility of him coming to the Zócalo. We can't pay him, it would have to be his collaboration. We take care of the stage and the lights, of course, nothing too spectacular… because I saw that he flew off a palm tree and that's not possible here. We can install a zip line," López Obrador said during a Wednesday news conference.
The president's request comes after hundreds of people were left outside the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, unable to see Bad Bunny because of cloned tickets.
López Obrador said he was making the request because the Puerto Rican artist is "supportive of the people," and while he acknowledged that the ticket scandal is not Bad Bunny's doing, the president said hosting a free concert would benefit thousands of his fans that were unable to see him live on Friday.
Bad Bunny and his team have yet to respond to the president's request.
Mexico’s consumer protection agency Profeco announced an investigation.
Ticketmaster Mexico said the event was highly sought-after but denied the concert was oversold. A company statement said 4.5 million requests had been received for just 120,000 available seats. Fakes then kept some legitimate ticketholders from getting in, the company said. An exact number of impacted ticketholders was not disclosed.
“On Friday, an unprecedented number of false tickets, not bought through our official channels, were presented at the gates,” the company said, adding that noting the situation at the entrances caused “temporary interruptions in the ticket reading system, which unfortunately momentarily impeded recognition of legitimate tickets."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Diana García is the Mexico City correspondent for La Voz / The Arizona Republic. Follow her on Twitter @dianagaav.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mexico's president asked Bad Bunny to play a free concert. Here's why
