Croke Park will be packed to the rafters in July of 2017 as Coldplay bring their 'A Head Full of Dreams' tour to Ireland. 

It will be the first time that the band play Croke Park, and they haven't played a gig in Ireland since they appeared at Oxegen in 2011.

Unsurprisingly, demand for the tickets to the gig was extremely high, and the concert sold out within around half-an-hour. If you were one of the lucky ones, then you have nothing to worry about, but if you weren't able to get any tickets, there are still a few avenues open to you that are worth exploring. 

Re-seller

Ticketmaster has a number of authorised re-sellers that they work with, who were advertising tickets to the gig within minutes of the official confirmation that it was sold out.

In Ireland, both Seat Wave and Get Me In! work with Ticketmaster officially, but the price has already seen a huge increase given the demand that there is for the gig here. On Friday morning, shortly after it was announced that the concert was sold out, the cheapest price for two standing tickets to the Dublin date of the tour was coming in at €518 on Seat Wave, including all the booking charges. 

Speaking to Newstalk.com, consumer expert Dermott Jewell advised that buyers do need to exercise caution when they are looking to get tickets from other sellers to an event that has sold out like this.  

"Buying from an authorised re-seller, it makes a lot of sense and it's the way to go," said Jewell. "A lot of people will be involved in trying to make money off what will, without any question, be a limited number of tickets leading to a high potential that there are going to be counterfeits in the market." 

When it comes to pricing, Jewell added: "These are unique occasions, and that's the whole idea of touting, to make it really appealing. However, realistically, it should never exceed 20-25% more than the face value, and even that is a large amount of money."

Users can also search the #TicketFairy hashtag on Tiwtter, or check other sites such as Viagogo or Toutless, however these routes all come with their own caveats. If you are going to look for tickets from a private seller or through a different method, Jewell warns that if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

"It's totally common sense. If you're going on to a site like that, you just have to have the clear recommendation in your mind that 'this just might be a scam'."

Travel

This leg of the band's tour includes a number of concerts in iconic venues around the rest of Europe, from the San Siro in Milan to the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw. Booking this far in advance should keep the cost of flights and accommodation down, and given that the tour takes place in the summer, you could even plan your annual holidays to include a concert. 

Coldplay are also playing in Cardiff right after the Dublin gig, which is not too far of a journey from Ireland. They have recently announced a second night there, as well as Paris, Milan and Brussels, meaning that tickets may well be easier to come by in those venues than they have proven to be in Dublin. 

Tickets will differ in cost across the various locations, but as an example, a standing ticket for the gig in Warsaw costs just under €70, including booking charges. 

Hold out hope

Coldplay's aforementioned gig in Milan takes place on Monday July 3rd, while they will not be taking to the stage of Croke Park until several days later in Dublin on July 8th. That leaves plenty of time to announce a second date in the interim, both before the Saturday show or after it, as they won't be playing in Cardiff until July 11th.  

Despite the fact that there appears to be space for it in the schedule, it's unlikely that the group will be aiming to include as many as five nights at Croke Park after #GarthGate, but there may be another date in store for fans given how quickly the tickets sold out here. 

The official press release from MCD also notes that these are the "first 2017 shows of the A Head Full Of Dreams Tour," and with second concerts already announced for Milan, Cardiff, Brussels and Paris, there may well be something similar happening in Dublin. 

Second Milan show just announced! Tickets on sale now at https://t.co/yY9HatAfx5 A pic.twitter.com/llMWWxNm9L

— Coldplay (@coldplay) October 7, 2016

Bruce Springsteen's Croke Park gig similarly sold out in an incredibly quick time, but due to the huge level of demand a second gig was added for those who were unable to make the first one. 

Fans should also keep an eye on Coldplay's official social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook, as well as their website, where news of any new gigs to be added to the schedule will be announced.