A Pink fan from Australia has spoken out after being told they’d have to spend $120 on a concert ticket if they wanted to take a newborn to the singer’s gig in Sydney.
Pink is currently traveling across the globe on her Summer Carnival tour, with a number of gigs lined up in Australia this month before she takes her show to the UK, Europe and the US.
The family, who asked not to be named, said in an interview with 7News that they hadn’t planned at the time to take a baby to the gig, but fast-forward to this year and they now have a new member of the family who is currently nine weeks old.
One member of the group explained that the entire extended family planned to attend the gig, and since they didn’t want to leave the baby with anyone else, they decided they were going to bring them along.
As they prepared for the event, the man approached Accor via Facebook Messenger to ask if he’d be allowed to take a nappy bag into the stadium.
“Can you tell me whether we will be allowed to bring a nappy bag?” he wrote. “Also, just confirming she won’t need a ticket?”
With tickets to the gig costing $180 AUD ($120 USD), the man was shocked when he got a response which read: “There is no issue bringing a nappy bag, but all attendees must have a ticket to enter, regardless of age.”
The man responded to point out that the event was already sold out, and that the child wouldn’t even be able to sit down in her own seat regardless.
However, a representative for the stadium doubled down and added ‘the age policy set for this show by the promoter’.
As he commented on Accor’s response to 7NEWS, the man said: “We found it disgraceful that a baby had to purchase a ticket when they were going to be in a baby carrier or on my sister’s chest.”
However, after the man spoke out about the interaction, Accor appears to have changed its mind and is allowing the baby entry to the gig free of charge.
The stadium has also offered the family upgraded seats and parking closer to the stadium.
The man described the change of heart as a ‘wonderful outcome’, though he made clear that he didn’t want other families to have to go through a similar situation.
He also expressed belief that Pink, a mom herself, ‘wouldn’t be happy about this issue’.
On its website, Accor states that children under the age of three may be admitted free of charge to ‘most sporting events’, though it does not specify its policy for concerts online.