Apology for disabled woman denied Swift tickets

Cat Dafydd spent £1,800 to see Taylor Swift in France after being unable to secure more than two accessible tickets to the Cardiff show

A disabled woman who was prevented from buying enough tickets for her daughters to join her at Taylor Swift’s Cardiff concert has received an apology from Ticketmaster.

While other customers could buy up to four tickets for the gig, Cat Dafydd was told by the ticket seller that she could only buy one accessible ticket, with one complimentary ticket for a carer.

Ms Dafydd, who uses a wheelchair following a spinal chord injury, resorted to spending £1,800 to see Swift with her daughters in France.

Ticketmaster apologised and subsequently sent Ms Dafydd three complimentary tickets for the Cardiff concert, but its accessibility policy has not changed.

‘Feel as if I was worth less’

Ms Dafydd, from Llandysul, Ceredigion, said she first contacted Ticketmaster in June 2023 to ask about taking her daughters to the concert.

She was told she would be unable to do this because she required an accessible ticket.

Ms Dafydd said: “I can’t take my daughters, but if I didn’t have a disability I would be able to.

“It made me feel, as a disabled person, as if I was worth less than anyone else.”

Ms Dafydd decided to spend £1,800 on hospitality tickets for Swift’s show in Lyon, France, through another website.

While she and her daughters are excited for the Eras tour, they believe that Ticketmaster’s rules are unfair.

Elliw, 11, said travelling to France would put additional pressure on their mother.

“The day before the concert, my mum will probably be in a lot of pain and will have to lie down on the bed,” said Elliw.

Ms Dafydd said: “Being disabled has cost me so much more in order to just have a wonderful experience with my children that other people can have really easily.”

No change to accessibility policy

Ms Dafydd sent a letter to Ticketmaster in June 2023 to complain about its accessibility policy.

However, she said it was “completely ignored”.

After receiving a request for comment from the BBC, Ticketmaster apologised to Ms Dafydd and offered her three free tickets to the concert in Cardiff.

Ticketmaster said the situation was “not handled according to the standards we have set for ourselves”.

Managing director of Ticketmaster UK, Andrew Parsons, added: “We take accessibility very seriously and always work with venues and promoters to accommodate requests wherever possible.

“We apologise to Ms Dafydd and are pleased that the situation has now been resolved.”

Ms Dafydd said: “I’m glad that Ticketmaster has apologised and recognised that my experience with their access service was not what it should have been.”

Accessibility barriers

Elin Williams, from Disability Wales, said buying tickets for events could “take hours” for disabled people.

“Very ironically, the process of buying accessible tickets isn’t accessible,” she said.

“It’s very unfair when non-disabled people can buy a tickets in a few simple clicks in under a couple of minutes, when it can take hours for disabled people.

“It means that people are put off from being able to go to these shows because of the inequality and barriers that exist.”

Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, which was not responsible for ticket sales but is hosting the Swift concert, said: “Our role as host venue is to work in partnership with the promoter and ticket operator to deliver a safe and enjoyable experience for all fans attending the stadium.”