Ed Sheeran fan told to buy concert ticket for four-month-old breastfeeding son
A Brisbane mother has spoken of her disappointment after being told she had to fork out for a second ticket to bring her breast-feeding reliant baby with her to an upcoming Ed Sheeran gig.
Kirsty McDonald, from The Gap, slammed organisers of the British star's Suncorp Stadium concert on Wednesday after she was told her four-month-old son, Leni, couldn't attend on her ticket.
"This, in my eyes, is simply being money hungry," she told Yahoo7 News.
Ms McDonald had bought tickets for herself, her mother, and her sister-in-law, oblivious to the fact she needed a full-price ticket for her youngest son despite being in a baby carrier.
Leni refuses to feed from a bottle and Ms McDonald decided the best option would be to take him along to the gig sporting ear muffs.
The mother-of-two said she had no issue paying for her son to attend but believed paying around $100 was over the top.
"The promoter should have made tickets for infants, like airlines do," she said.
Ms McDonald defended her decision to take her young son to a concert, saying it's no different to other loud but child-friendly events.
"In this day and age people take their children along to any number of events that prove to be noisy," she pointed out.
"Would I be shamed for taking him to the local school fete to watch fireworks? I don't think so."
She revealed she had taken her two boys to sporting events previously with no issues and plans to take them to the Commonwealth Games without the need for extra tickets.
After inquiring with Ticketek about her son, she was told via email it was not possible to bring him for "free on the knee" and that she would need to buy a ticket for Leni.
A spokeswoman for Frontier Touring, the event promotor for the concert, stood by the decision in a statement to the ABC, saying age was irrelevant for price of admission and without a ticket it would hamper safety procedures.
"Part of the reason that we require people to have a ticket is knowing exactly how many people are in the venue, which is primarily for a safety reason," a spokeswoman said.
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The spokeswoman also said the company advised guests not to bring young children to the event due to extreme noise and lighting.
Yahoo7 News has contacted Frontier Touring for comment.
Ms McDonald's outrage comes one week after dozens of concertgoers slammed organisers of Ed Sheeran's Melbourne concerts for failing to open the stadium roof in sweltering conditions.
Witnesses described seeing several people faint due to the extreme conditions.
