Festival not allowing chairs!! As a pregnant woman do they have to let me?

[Jenwal2]

So, I bought tickets to one day of a festival before getting pregnant. I'm 16 weeks and still planning to go and wasn't expecting any problem, but now they have said you can't take chairs in. I have the beginning of SPD (caused by an earlier pregnancy) and am struggling with standing for any length of time and sitting on the floor is painful/uncomfortable. I was just planning to take a chair. They have only just released rules in the last few days, which say no chairs and there is absolutely no way to contact them. Do I have any rights? Do I just argue it when I get there? What happens if they say leave your chair or don't come in?

"Just take one along and, pretend you had absolutely no idea of the 'rules'. Laugh incredulously if they do say anything, but crucially, just be breezy. Never, ever ask in this type of situation."

It'll be removed from you, at request of those whose view you block. You'll stand out a mile by being a level above everyone else. I don't think you'll get a chance to 'laugh incredulously' as complaints are likely to be directed at you by those whose view you are impeding, and if you mock those you are preventing from seeing, you will find it incredibly hard to be 'breezy' as they all turn and say "must you be so rude". Only they won't even attempt politeness.

Can you take a picnic box and sit on that?

Am sure this can't apply with Equality regulations either. Can you ring CAB and ask.

Could you hire a wheel chair and sit in that. I know you didn't want any special treatment but they can't kick you out of a wheel chair.

There are bound to be catering faculties with seating just a bit further away from the stage. Buy a drink when you need to have a sit down.

exercise ball? could you squeeze that and an airpump in your pocket??

as unfair as it seems, it is a standard rule for festivals. You won't be the only pregnant lady there, I saw maybe 8, excluding myself, at the big weekend and that was just the 'definitely preg' ladies and just the ones that walked past my blanket.

I coped fine, but I don't have SPD, there will be a lot of standing and walking anyway due to the nature of a festival. How about a cushion or something else floor level?

I've been to a lot of festivals where during the day people tend to sit on the grass and watch. Standing tends to come later on with the more rockier bands in the evening.

I've been to festivals where the odd person turns up with a chair and people don't like it at all. One festival I went to where chairs were banned it was strictly enforced.

I would go in a wheelchair under those circumstances. Assuming you can persuade someone to push you. You can hire one from your local Red Cross for not much money. You ARE effectively (and fortunately temporarily) a disabled person at the moment because your body doesn't have the ability to do this without a chair.

Reading the lineup it sounds like the kind of festival where most people will be standing up and dancing on drugs

Re not using the disabled facilities - do they mean they have a special area for wheelchairs (not uncommon at say sporting events) and that you need to have bought a wheelchair ticket to use it?

A wheelchair? You as an able bodied woman in early pregnancy would actually hire a wheelchair and use it in public? Wow. I would never have the brass neck to do something so embarrassing.

If you go in a wheelchair, you'll probably be steered to the facilities for the dissabled, which may be a separate area.

You'll be better off trying to make a late booking for this provision. Don't feel you shouldn't - even temporary conditions can cause a level of need which means that is where you need to be for the duration.

They can have a rule like this, they can refuse exceptions (and it would be chaos from their POV if they did) but they must provide their service in line with the Equalities Act.

Ehric - clearly you've never experienced SPD!

Nor has the OP!! She's 16 weeks into a normal pregnancy and being advised to use a wheelchair

Ok my bad didn't read the OP properly. Please forgive me!

Take a large cushion. The softness will help.

I would imagine they have a specific area for disabled people who need to sit down / use wheel chairs and that's how they deal with any equality issues .

Cactus, disabled facilities may mean wheelchair area rather than loos.

I found sitting on an exercise helped me at work. You could just pump this up when inside. About £5 from TKmax or a bit more from any sports shop.
Rubber ring if space is an issue, though collapsed ball only about lunch box size

I found sitting on an exercise helped me at work. You could just pump this up when inside. About £5 from TKmax or a bit more from any sports shop.
Rubber ring if space is an issue, though collapsed ball only about lunch box size

Oh and take a letter from your GP stating your inability to stand for long periods or sit on the ground. Plus have the disability discrimination act on a shortcut on your phone.

Look at s 29. 7 of the EA. it does mention making reasonable adjustments. So it's a question of whether that would count as one.