First look: Scaffolding removed from Sheeran mural. Source: ODT
A Brisbane woman who bought tickets to Ed Sheeran's Brisbane concert at Lang Park has been told she needs to buy an additional ticket if she wants to bring her four-month-old breastfeeding son with her.
Speaking to the ABC, Kirsty McDonald said that she had bought standing tickets to Sheeran'ssold out show with her mother and sister-in-law, not thinking she would need to buy an extra ticket for her son, Leni. He was not even yet born when tickets went on sale last year.
However, as the date of the concert approached, she realised she would need to take Leni with her because he has a medical condition that requires her to breastfeed him and she wanted to check that she would be able to take him in a baby carrier.
Kirsty McDonald has been left fuming after event promoter Frontier Touring won't let her take her four-month-old son, Leni, to the Ed Sheeran concert without his own ticket. Photo / Facebook
When she contacted the ticket seller Ticketek, she was told she wouldn't be able to bring him without him having his own ticket.
They defended the rule citing "safety reasons" as the main motivation, with a spokesman saying, ""Part of the reason that we require people to have a ticket is knowing exactly how many people are in the venue".
McDonald was appalled, telling ABC, "I just thought it was absolutely ridiculous. I'm quite angry".
The spokesman went on to suggest McDonald shouldn't be bringing an infant to the concert in the first place saying that they "always discourage bringing a child of such a young age to a concert".
When she contacted the ticket seller Ticketek, she was told she wouldn't be able to bring him without him having his own ticket. Photo / Dean Parcelll
Regardless of their opinions on McDonald's parenting choices, they have left her out in the lurch as the event is sold out and she is now tasked with trying to find a ticket from resellers.
The tickets she purchased were $100, but since selling out, resellers are asking for almost double that for tickets in the same section.
Not to mention there have already been problems with people selling fraudulent tickets, the situation is less that ideal.
This is not the first scandal to rock Sheeran's Australian tour. His Melbourne concerts were marred by copious fans fainting and being treated for heat exhaustion due to overheating at the venue.
Sheeran kicks of his two-show run in Brisbane on Tuesday the 20th of March.
News.com.au has reached out to Frontier Touring and Lang Park for comment.
