During ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras” tour, people with disabilities are said to have had a difficult time obtaining tickets that will guarantee them barrier-free access to the concert. This was revealed in a Thursday (December 15) Cosmopolitan article.
The America tour is planned for March to August 2023. The musician will play various pieces from her long career, starting with the country record TAYLOR SWIFT (2006) and ending with her recently released concept album MIDNIGHTS.
The problem behind barrier-free places
As if the chaos when buying tickets for the musician’s tour wasn’t enough, the provider was once again cast in an unfavorable light. Cosmopolitan reported that Ticketmaster, which sold tickets for Swift, did not explicitly make tickets available for fans with disabilities. For this reason, according to the article, it was hardly possible for those affected to purchase suitable tickets in advance. The few barrier-free seats were quickly sold out – but primarily purchased by fans without a disability, who must rely on them.
“There’s always this inherent discrimination that no matter how much money I spend, I’ll never be able to get ahead. It will never be possible for me to sit on the goal line or get to ground level seats,” a fan told Cosmopolitan. “I know for a fact that as a father I can never take my son or my wife to see someone from the front row because in most of these stadiums that’s not possible.”
Author Amy Webb, also quoted in the magazine’s article, took to Instagram in November to comment on the issue: “How many people am I hoping to snag tickets to Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras’ tour. However, unlike many others, I try to make sure I get accessible seating so I can take my daughters, one of whom is in a wheelchair, to the concert.”
In her video, Webb explains that a contingency of seats that would only be accessible to people with disabilities with the required ID could be a possible solution to the problem. The entire clip is here:
“For the disabled community, inaccessibility is a song and dance we know all too well”
In response to the published post, Webb once again commented on the topic via social media: “(…) The main difference between the nightmare [in Bezug auf das Desaster der Ticketverkäufe über „Ticketmaster“], which most Swifties experienced, and the nightmare that Swifties with disabilities went through, was that the latter group saw it coming 100 percent. (…) For the disabled community, inaccessibility is a song and dance that we know all too well.”
The author also thanked for the “Cosmopolitan” contribution, which creates visibility for the problem. “Of course the problem is so much bigger than just a concert. It’s about every concert. It’s about every sporting event, plane trip, bowling alley, amusement park, museum, theater, restaurant, public restroom, parking lot, and more. And like so many issues, if you can tie it to a big star and a big event… well, maybe it’ll draw some attention.”
At least that one story had a positive ending, Webb revealed in her statement: “PS, Taylor, if you see this – thanks to Keith’s willingness [möglicherweise ist der Musiker Keith Urban gemeint, mit dem Swift 2021 die Single „That’s When“ veröffentlichte]to sell us his accessible seats, my daughter comes to you on her thirteenth birthday. And if that isn’t karma, I don’t know what is!”
The current work MIDNIGHTS, whose tracks hopefully more fans with disabilities will be able to listen to live in the future, can be heard here:
In the summer of 2022, Pearl Jam made headlines when they invited Roland Mandel, who was in a wheelchair, onto the stage during their concert. Mandel was originally denied access to the concert because he was healthy when he bought the tickets for the original date. Because of the corona pandemic, however, the show took place two years later than planned, and Mandel had developed ALS in the meantime. Despite all the adversities at the Waldbühne, Pearl Jam made sure that Mandel’s big wish could still be fulfilled.