Tuesday 9th June 2026
12.15pm-7.00pm
Lilian Baylis Studio
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Rosebery Avenue
London EC1R 4TN
STAR members (full, associate, travel affiliate and affiliate) can register up to ten representatives from their organisation, free of charge, for the AGM, members' lunch and the afternoon seminar. Freelance members are able to register one free place for the AGM, members' lunch and the afternoon seminar.
Members planning to attend for lunch will need to register attendees by Thursday 28 May.
The seminar will finish with a social/networking opportunity over a drink.
The cost of the seminar for non-STAR members is £150. Members of UK Theatre, Society of London Theatre, Ticketing Industry Social Community, National Arenas Association, Concert Promoters Association or LIVE pay only £75. If you are a member of one of these organisations and do not have the appropriate discount code, please contact info@star.org.uk Use the link above to buy tickets for the seminar.
The seminar will be of interest to a range of roles in ticketing organisations including senior management, client management, ticketing operations, marketing/communications and customer services. STAR members are encouraged to enable staff from across their company's operations to attend.
12.15pm - 1.00pm
STAR AGM (STAR members only)
1.00pm - 2.00pm
Light Lunch (STAR members only)
2.00pm - 3.25pm
SEMINAR - Part 1
2.00pm Welcome
2.05pm What's New?
Scrutiny of the ticketing sector has intensified, with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 now firmly in force. Since April 2025, its consumer provisions have banned hidden “drip” fees and strengthened the enforcement powers of the Competition and Markets Authority, which has taken an increasingly proactive role in supporting and monitoring compliance.
In November 2025, the CMA published detailed pricing transparency guidance, providing greater clarity on how the new rules should operate in practice. Ticketing businesses have since been working hard to implement these requirements and ensure that consumers see clear, upfront pricing.
The Government’s “Putting Fans First” programme has progressed, with an announcement in November that legislation will be introduced to cap ticket resale. By the time of this seminar, we will know whether this measure has been included in the King’s Speech and therefore set to be taken forward in the next Parliamentary session. In addition, STAR has been tasked by the Government with a convening role for the sector and to establish and share best practice on pricing transparency and resale, helping ticketing businesses and other stakeholders adapt to the evolving regulatory landscape.
This short introduction to the afternoon reflects on a year of implementation and adjustment and looks ahead to what happens next.
| Speaker | Jonathan Brown, Chief Executive, STAR |
2.15pm Data from the Stalls: Learnings from the UK's Largest Theatregoing Survey
We will unpack surprising trends in price sensitivity and perceived value, exploring how audiences truly evaluate their seats, the venue experience, and the overall ticket cost.
Delegates will learn how to diagnose the "expectation gap"—the critical disconnect between a marketing campaign's creative promise and the actual lived experience that can silently kill positive word-of-mouth.
Finally, we will discuss how to track market awareness and audience intent, providing actionable strategies to confidently refine campaign positioning, target the right demographics, and ultimately reduce wasted marketing spend.
| Speaker |
Joe Shellard, Senior Director, TodayTix Group |
2.50pm Automation vs Human Connection: Balancing Efficiency with Empathy in Customer Service
As customer service evolves, ticketing organisations are increasingly turning to automation, AI and digital tools to improve speed and efficiency. This session will explore how these technologies are being used across contact centres, including their growing role in handling customer complaints.
At the same time, customers themselves are beginning to use AI tools to draft and submit complaints, changing both the volume and tone of interactions. We will consider what this means for customer service teams, from increased complexity to shifting expectations around response times and personalisation.
The session will examine where automation can support faster resolution and consistency, and where it may fall short, particularly in more complex or sensitive situations where empathy and judgement are critical.
Bringing together industry perspectives, this discussion will explore how organisations can strike the right balance between efficiency and human connection, and what this means for complaint handling, escalation and customer trust.
Interactive elements will invite participants to reflect on real-world examples, including identifying automated versus human responses, and sharing experiences of what works well in practice.
| Speakers |
Veronica Kakuba, Head of Event Ticketing Operations, The O2 |
3.25pm - 3.45pm
Tea Break
3.45pm - 5.45pm
SEMINAR - Part 2
3.45pm Dispute Roulette: Real Cases, Real Decisions
This popular quick-fire session returns, with the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) team presenting a series of real dispute scenarios encountered over the past year.
With a particular focus on access issues and restricted views, the session will explore some of the most sensitive and complex cases facing the industry, highlighting where expectations, communication and delivery do not always align.
Using interactive polling, participants will be invited to decide how each case should be resolved, before hearing how the situation was ultimately handled and the reasoning behind it.
Fast-paced and practical, this session offers insight into common challenges, evolving customer expectations and how consistent, fair outcomes can be achieved in difficult circumstances.
| Megan Conman, Dispute Resolution Manager, STAR Helen Chambers, Dispute Resolution Officer, STAR |
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4.25pm Last to Know, First to Blame: Understanding Perception, Rebuilding Trust
Ticketing has, in recent years, become a sector that attracts significant and often unfair criticism from audiences, partners and the wider industry. This session will explore how that perception has developed and why negative sentiment towards ticketing businesses has become so widespread.
Danny Hannaford (Ticketmaster) and Paul Newman (AXS), alongside other industry voices, will examine the role ticketing plays between artist and fan, particularly in managing supply and demand, and consider how that role is understood both publicly and within the industry itself.
The session will also reflect on how criticism, both justified and unjustified, has extended beyond consumers to promoters, venues and other stakeholders, and what this means for those working within the sector.
Bringing together a range of perspectives, this discussion will ask whether there is a path towards rebuilding trust and improving how ticketing is perceived, and what practical steps could help achieve that.
| Moderator | |
| Panellists |
Danny Hannaford, Senior Director Client Product Solutions, Ticketmaster |
5.05pm Putting Customers First: Practical steps towards a more consumer-friendly industry
As expectations around fairness, transparency and service continue to grow, ticketing organisations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they are acting in the best interests of their customers.
This session will focus on the practical actions members can take to become more consumer-friendly, from clearer communication and more transparent pricing to improving policies, processes and overall customer experience.
Looking beyond the sector, we will also ask what ticketing can learn from other industries in delivering more customer-focused approaches, and how these lessons could be applied in practice.
We will explore how evolving regulation and guidance, including developments from the Competition and Markets Authority and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, are shaping expectations, and what this means in day-to-day practice.
Moving beyond compliance alone, the discussion will consider how organisations can embed customer-first thinking across their operations, building trust through consistency, clarity and fairness.
Bringing together industry perspectives, this session will highlight realistic, achievable changes that can make a meaningful difference to how ticketing is experienced by audiences.
| Speaker |
Adam Carter, Chief Operating Officer, Consumer Friend |
5.45pm - 7.00pm
The bar will be open for delegates to socialise and network.
Please note that photography and video recording will be taking place throughout the day for promotional and archival purposes. By attending this event, you consent to your image, likeness and voice being used in such content and you waive any rights you may have for payment or royalties in connection with its use. Please notify a member of the STAR team if you do not want your image to be used.
