Is this discrimination from Wembley Stadium?

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Background - my DD needs a wheelchair if more than a few minutes walking. My 12 year old DGD wants to go to Summertime Ball. DGD would not be able to push wheelchair for any sort of distance, so I would need to go too.

Tickets on sale yesterday. My DD was on hold for 90 minutes yesterday for disabled access tickets. When she finally got through she was told she could only have one extra seat with wheelchair seat.

Able bodied people can buy up to 6 tickets. Wheelchair users 2.

This means a person needing a wheelchair can never take her children to this family event.

Is this discrimination or are we expecting too much?

I think it just means you can't all sit together. I can understand it as wheelchair users brought multiple guests it would mean less available spacers for those who are in a wheelchair.

Is there a special section for wheelchair users? Or can you buy two disabled tickets and four standard entry?

Certainly sounds like it to me.
What did they say when you challenged this?

I'd buy the third ticket separately and ask to be seated together. I don't think it's the norm to allow two helpers with a wheelchair user. Would it be cheaper to buy the child ticket as the separate one?

At a Wembley football match last season, a child in a wheelchair was sat within one of the main blocks, in a designated wheelchair space. It was therefore feasible for family members to be sat together. I can't imagine that the seating differs too much for concerts.

I would question this further.

You can't buy separately, normal access sold through AXS disabled tickets through Wembley.

It has been questioned further. They say because it's a popular event they cannot be flexible. So it's one plus one.

Most places do only offer 1 carer ticket with a disabled ticket, this is due to limited space in the disabled seating area. It's unfortunate and I can understand your frustration but I don't think it's anything you can challenge.

The O2 allow up to three, which means a family can attend together. This is a large area and the 'carer' seats are not fixed so it works well.

so you want able bodied people to be able to take places away from disabled users just so you can sit together?

for every extra carer place means less access for disabled people

I guess you could put it like that, but in this case it would be a carer and the wheelchair user's child. Not the same as friends having a jolly. More necessity than want.

I think it depends on the setup at the stadium. The staff can only do what the stadium is designed to hold. I know that one of the big stadium's here have a one seat, one gap space for wheelchair seating, so only one person would be able to sit with the wheelchair user. Another stadium has just been renovated and now uses folding chairs, so they can shuffle around and fit extra seating in.

Does your DD need the wheelchair accessible seat, or is she able to get out of her wheelchair and sit in a seat? If so, could you buy three seats in a row that is easy access and leave the wheelchair at the back? That's what I do when I take my elderly relative and my son to shows, as she's able to walk far enough to get to a row nearest the door at the end of the row. The stadiums usually let us go in first if you speak to them so she can take her time getting to the seat without being shoved around.

Could you seat your two children together in the disabled area, and you have a separate seat?

It sounds a hard situation. But specific disabled access areas do this so that there is enough space for all disabled people who want to go. But it is far from ideal.

You need four of you to go then, you and a friend with regular tickets, then your DD and DGD in the wheelchair and carer seats.. You can help with logistics getting to the space etc then leave your DD and DGD and enjoy the event with your friend, keep your phone on vibrate or your DD can ask for help from an usher if she needs it.

I get where you're coming from but if they would have fewer disabled spaces at a popular event as a result of you all sitting together then wheelchair users etc who need those spaces would lose out and their need is greater than yours IMO.

Hi OP

Do Wembley not offer help or any support from Security Etc with moving wheelchairs? Or could DD rent an electronic chair for the day?

It would save you having to go and it would meand DD would be able to take DGD too?

Not aware that they do anything to help.

With regards to buying split tickets, normal access sold out before she even managed to get a phone answered, so that was impossible.

She wouldn't be able to use normal seating in any way as she gets worse throughout the day, so while she would get to the seat initially after some time she wouldn't be able to get out of the seat and walk to the wheelchair.

It's frustrating as she is starting to accept her worsening condition but so many things stand in the way of making life 'normal'.

Also when buying tickets you don't have a choice where, just section/price range, so you couldn't pick end of row or similar

But it's your DGD who wants to see the event, not your wheelchair using DD. So under normal circumstances your DGD couldn't go anyway.

Sorry I know that sounds harsh and I understand it would be nice for your DGD to do something with her mum especially if your DD's needs have limited other things for your DGD, but it is not for other wheelchair users who actually want to go to this ball to sacrifice their spaces so your DGD can go to something already sold out.

(I do sympathise though, my dad had polio which had an impact on the the things/activities my sibling and I could do as kids)

It is the problem with events that organisers know will sell in minutes, the two scenarios is families with a wheelchair user sit together and limit actual wheelchair space or families are split and need to get tickets from different sources with no guarantee of success of tickets never mind in the same area. Unfortunately as well you will have those who will book the disabled area fraudulently.

It's not a necessity that your dd goes at all - it's your dgd that wants to go and you could go with her.

If your dd was the one that wanted to go you may have a teeny tiny point, but it's not.

You are being treated less favourably than a family without a disabled member so yes, unless they can justify this policy it is discrimination. There was a campaign a couple of years ago by a father who could not be seated together with his three children at Manchester United because one child was a wheelchair user. The club installed new family and friends seating in the wheelchair area following pressure from EHRC. So it's worth complaining if you have the energy - there is precedence.

It sounds tough OP. I really think non wheelchair users do not really have any idea how much it limits your life and makes things far harder. And it does wear you down, because this kind of stuff is constant, although it is much better than it used to be.

Just to say, you could argue you are not being treated less favourably, as all the ordinary seats have already sold out. So you simply would not got have any ticket at all.

My DD does want to go with her DD which seems reasonable to me. Unfortunately it is also not possible.

But pencils the person who wants to go in this case is able-bodied.