Hundreds of Junkanoo fans are fuming as ticket sales get off to a chaotic start. After being told for weeks that they would be able to purchase tickets for the 2022 Boxing Day and 2023 New Years Day Junkanoo parades online, fans learned today that tickets could only be purchased online using the Aliv Events app, which is not available in the Apple Store.
This disadvantage immediately shut out thousands of people with IPhones - ironically, a phone sold by Aliv.
“What about the Apple app, everyone don’t have an android device,” one person said.
Fans hoping to buy tickets online raised questions about how people with Iphones could purchase them electronically but got no response.
Some iPhone users then showed up at the only two Aliv locations selling tickets, Harbour Bay and Cable Beach, hours ahead of the 3pm sale launch where further chaos ensued.
There were long lines and lost Aliv employees who could not clearly articulate to customers how the process would work.
“I was on that line and left. This whole process is horrible and the app went back down,” said one frustrated customer.
“Chaos at Aliv store Harbour Bay. Everyone totally lost,” said another Junkanoo fan on the line.
Though the major parades always draw big crowds, thousands of Bahamians have especially been looking forward to this year’s Junkanoo parades, which are expected to be sold out, as the country has not had major Junkanoo parades since the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to most gatherings in 2019.
If these issues are not fixed by Aliv, they fear, many disappointed people will have to watch the parades at home on ZNS.