Popular Greek singing sensation Konstantinos Argiros may be set to dazzle fans at the Sydney Opera House on Monday, October 27, but for many Greek Australians, excitement quickly turned to frustration after tickets for the one-night-only show sold out within minutes — with little to no communication from organisers about pre-sale opportunities.
The concert, presented by Encore Productions by Pambris Bros, was officially advertised for general sale on May 29. Yet many fans were left blindsided when they logged on at 9am to find almost all seats already gone, with only scattered singles remaining.
It later emerged that the Sydney Opera House had run two pre-sale events on their website — one on May 27 for paid Opera Insider members and another on May 28 for e-newsletter subscribers.
Despite Encore Productions publishing a live link on their website directing fans to the official Sydney Opera House event page on Monday, May 26, these pre-sales were never clearly promoted on their official social media or announcement posts, leaving many in the dark.
A flurry of frustrated posts quickly flooded social media, with comments expressing disappointment, confusion and anger. Some users described the experience as “a joke” and accused organisers of poor communication. Others demanded that a second concert be added.
Lena Hasapis, one of the few fans who successfully secured tickets, told The Greek Herald she only discovered the pre-sale information through another fan’s comment online.
“I first saw the announcement on the Facebook page Encore Productions By Pambris Bros. They didn’t provide much information on what time the tickets would be released or even pre-sale options – just the date, 29th May,” Lena explained. “Another follower suggested heading straight to the Opera House page for further information.”
There, she found details about the Opera Insider membership, which gave her early access to tickets for a $110 annual fee. Weighing the risk, Lena signed up.
“There was only one concert announced and the capacity in the Concert Hall is just over 2,000, so I knew demand would be high and securing tickets would be unlikely if I waited,” she said.
She managed to get three box seat tickets in the E Reserve section after logging in at 9am on May 27. But even she was surprised by how many tickets were released before the general sale.
“I never received the e-newsletter link, so the Insider membership was definitely worth it,” she added. “But I feel sad that a lot of fans won’t get the opportunity to see the concert.”
Lena noted that friends and acquaintances were “angry” to discover they had missed the narrow pre-sale window — not because they were too late, but because they simply didn’t know it existed.
“Encore Productions restricted comments on their page because of the backlash. A lot of fans also commented directly on Konstantinos Argiros’ Facebook page when he announced tickets sold out within minutes,” she said. “Many said the concert should’ve been held at a bigger venue like Accor Stadium so more fans could attend like Melbourne did.”
The concert’s venue — the iconic but intimate Sydney Opera House — seats just over 2,000 in its Concert Hall, making demand significantly higher than supply. With no second date announced and communication criticised as opaque, calls are mounting for Encore Productions to address the issue and offer another show.
‘We will take feedback on board’:
In a response to The Greek Herald‘s enquiries, co-owner of Encore Productions Evan Pambris said they were “genuinely overwhelmed by the response to this event, with over 25,000 people expressing interest.”
“On Monday, 26 May, we published a live link on our website directing fans to the official Sydney Opera House event page. This page clearly outlined all event and ticketing information, including pre-sale access,” Pambris said.
“While this may not have been highlighted as prominently in our social media posts as some would have preferred, the information was available—and we take that feedback on board for future events.”
Pambris said that as promoters, Encore Productions “worked diligently across multiple time zones to coordinate with both the Sydney Opera House and Konstantinos Argiros’ international team,” and they genuinely did their best to communicate clearly in a fast-moving environment.
“We fully understand the disappointment from fans who missed out. With such limited capacity, high demand meant that not everyone would be successful in securing tickets. Our team worked tirelessly to meet expectations, and we truly value the passion of the community,” he said.
“However, we want to be clear: while constructive feedback is always welcome, abuse or aggressive behaviour directed at our team will not be tolerated. This industry is about bringing people together through music, joy and connection—not hostility.”
Pambris concluded by stressing that given the “extraordinary demand” they are actively exploring the possibility of a second show, but “nothing is confirmed at this stage.”
