Taylor Swift faces boycott call over Australian tour's accessible ticket difficulties

Securing a ticket to Taylor Swift's Australian shows has been nightmarish enough for able-bodied people. For those living with disabilities, it's been even harder.

A photo of Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards, wearing a sparkly blue dress and big sparkly earings, with her hair tied back.

Taylor Swift fans living with disabilities have expressed their disappointment at the barriers they face to attending her Australian Eras tour. Source: AAP / Caroline Brehman

Multiple devices, 4am wakeups and TikTok tutorials - this is what it takes .

More than four million fans were ready and waiting on Wednesday morning to purchase pre-sale tickets for the Australian leg of her world tour, with shows exclusively in Sydney and Melbourne.

People from around the country queued up online to secure tickets, many waiting for hours to no avail.

But for those seeking accessible seating, there is an added hurdle.
Twenty-eight-year-old Zoe Simmons lives with multiple disabilities, including a chronic nerve condition called .

"The internet is going wild right now with people trying to get Taylor Swift tickets. But if you think it's frustrating for you as a non-disabled person imagine trying to get accessible tickets," said Ms Simmons, who is based in Melbourne.

"It's like this every single time we try to get access. And we have to wait for weeks knowing that we may not even get tickets and it's incredibly stressful; it's incredibly anxiety-inducing. You almost want to give up hope because you think, 'What's the point?' You don't want to get excited about it because you probably won't be able to go."

Ms Simmons's condition causes her extreme pain, fatigue and makes her limbs go numb.

She submitted an online form for an accessible booking via Ticketek for the MCG venue ahead of the pre-sale.
A picture of Zoe Simmons wearing a pink dress and sitting in her wheelchair, which is adorned with flowers.
Taylor Swift fans with access needs were promised a "dedicated support line". Zoe Simmons says she called it and never heard back. Source: Supplied / Emma Veness Photography
Ticketek's website says "Swifties with accessible needs can buy Accessible tickets by completing the online accessible booking form" and that, "a dedicated support line will be available to assist fans through this process."

But Ms Simmons says she still hasn't heard back.

"I can't go to any of these concerts if I don't have an accessible seat, because I need my wheelchair," she said.

"I can't stand in line; I can't walk from all of these places; I can't stand while I'm waiting in line for tickets, or drinks or anything else. I can't stand while I'm waiting for people to go in and out of the concert."

Accessible tickets 'vital' but barriers remain

Ms Simmons said it's "vital that people have access to accessible tickets".

"It's not just people using mobility aids. It's also people who have other access needs. So it's really important and we don't ever really talk about it or hear about it, which is so disappointing," she said.

"But that's also pretty common for every disabled issue. You know, we have to battle for accessibility any time we leave the house. So it's just exhausting ... It's just another thing. We have to just fight."

Ms Simmons said she has had to wait weeks for a response about accessible tickets for other concerts and, in one instance, she was put on hold for over three hours.

SBS News contacted the Ticketek support line via phone.

Ticketek connected and when questioned did not answer.
Zoe said it's a common experience across multiple Australian ticketing providers.

"So this isn't just a Ticketek issue. This is a wider issue," she said.

Ms Simmons said she had also had some "good experiences" when it came to securing tickets for other events.

"I managed to book shows recently and I could just book wheelchair tickets online. Like anybody else," she said.

"It was so quick it was so easy. It was just amazing. Just the sheer joy of just being able to access it like anybody else made such a difference and also highlighted, you know, the way things are for the most part isn't good enough. They need to do better."
People With Disability Australia president Nicole Lee said the lack of progress was frustrating.

"In all the years that I've been going to concerts and doing these sorts of things here, not much has changed in the landscape," she said.

"We can't access our tickets online. I can't book a ticket on my companion card for my carer to come with me and not pay for their ticket online. I have to call up a venue or I have to go through an arduous process to access the tickets the same as everybody else," she said.

"I can't just jump online and buy my ticket like other people can and that's the problem, she said, adding that the problem was particularly acute for big events like a Taylor Swift concert where tickets sell out quickly.

People with disabilities often "miss out on those spots, because the tickets have been all sold out," she said.

Call to boycott major events that aren't accessible

Ms Lee said, if anything, these processes have become more difficult.

"We are tired of fighting these fights on our own. We're tired of being the squeaky wheel; we're tired of saying 'don't forget us' ... We're not looking for special treatment, we're looking for equitable access alongside everybody else," she said.

"And to be honest, you know, we get really exhausted and burnt out. And unfortunately for somebody ... in my 40s, I just don't go to events anymore, because this is just too exhausting."

Ms Lee said people should steer clear of events that aren't accessible.

"You know it would be really brilliant if people just boycotted major events that weren't accessible," she said.
Nicole Lee
Nicole Lee wants to see people boycott events that aren't accessible. Source: SBS News / SBS News
"Headlining performers not going with companies that have arduous processes, actually looking at what is the accessibility from the ticketing to the venue that's being booked. And they have the power to say, 'Well, I'm taking my fans and I'm taking their money, and I'm going elsewhere; that is going to do better.'

"I think that is the only way we're going to get these organisations and companies that are making a lot of money to do better is that everybody – artists, all of their fans included – say 'we're going to take our dollars and we're going to go elsewhere.'"

The Eras tour is considered unique as it's the first time Swift is playing music from all of her albums, which she is currently in the process of re-recording after Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun bought her entire music catalogue.

"For all the Taylor Swift fans out there with disability, they want to know that they can go alongside everybody else," Ms Lee said.

"They want to know now that they've got a ticket. That they are able to attend. They don't want to know in three weeks' time or in a month's time or the day before, or to get there and find that they can't get in.

"Fans are fans, and we are fans alongside everybody else in the community and we just want the same access and equitable access for these things, like everyone else."

Australian general public tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras tour go on sale at 10am AEST on Friday.

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7 min read
Published 30 June 2023 6:04am
By Hannah Kwon
Source: SBS News



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