Breastfeeding babies will need full-price tickets to see 2012 Olympics

London 2012 organisers are facing a backlash from prospective parents who have discovered they will need a ticket for their newborn babies – even if they weren't conceived when they originally bought the highly prized seats.

The situation, which has been described as "ridiculous" and "bloody stupid" by angry ticket holders, has arisen because the majority of tickets went on sale last April – 18 months before the Games.

Ticket-holders, some of whom will have babies who are weeks old and will be breastfeeding, who have contacted the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been told that they can try and buy an additional ticket for their chosen event for the baby.

But with tickets at a premium for many events, and only a limited number of "pay your age" concessionary tickets available, most parents will not be able to get a ticket and even if they can will have to pay the full price.

One ticket-holder who contacted the Guardian, Rosalind Ereira, said that she had been told that she would have to call a hotline to try and buy an additional ticket to the dressage for her as-yet-unborn baby when the final batch of 1.3m tickets goes on sale in April.

"Everyone attending the Olympic Games must be a ticket holder, no matter how old they are," she was told. "Where available, pay your age tickets for children aged one and under would be charged at £1. You would need a full price ticket for the session in order for any children to accompany you on the day."

Ereira has contacted the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has told her that she may have a case for "indirect sex discrimination", as the policy is more likely to affect women than men.

"A business must not do something which has [or would have] a worse impact on you and on other people who share a particular protected characteristic such as gender, than it has on people who do not share that characteristic. Unless the business can show that what they have done is objectively justified, this will be what is called indirect discrimination," said the EHRC.

"It could be argued that women are more likely to have child caring responsibilities and thus this policy might have more of an impact for women, but as stated above the business might be able to justify this potential discrimination."

The policy has attracted a furious response from parents on the Mumsnet website in recent weeks.

One woman described it as the "biggest rip-off in the history of London" while others wondered what to do with babies they will be breastfeeding.

Another said: "The whole thing is ridiculous, there are people who bought tickets before their babies were even conceived – how are they supposed to know to buy a ticket for a child that doesn't exist yet? There should be more complaining about this policy. It's nuts."

Another woman described the policy as "bloody stupid".

She added: "The baby isn't taking up a seat, and if they're worried about fire regulations or whatever then it's not as if the baby isn't going to be with you at all times – essentially you should be counted as one person. The baby's not using the facilities on its own."

London 2012 organisers argue that their policy has been clear from the start of the ticket sales process, and is not unusual for sporting venues. Overall, Locog is selling 6.6m tickets to the British public.
(from Guardian)

Totally Crazy & Greedy ...

this is ludicrous but guess its should be expected from this greedy circus xx

Not really the place to take babies is it. A lot of silly fuss about nothing !

kingcolemk wrote:Not really the place to take babies is it. A lot of silly fuss about nothing !

I agree entirely - not fair on the child or the other people who have paid a 'King's Ransom' for their tickets! But IMO the holders of such tickets should be able to get a full refund for monies spent - and enjoy a take away at home with the TV on - much better coverage :-)))) and less hassle all round!

There is an official scheme where people can sell on unwanted tickets at face value, but they are having problems getting the website to run properly ! Typical !