A Westlife fan said she had a 'rubbish' experience at a recent Westlife gig in Belfast, saying it was a "constant reminder that I am disabled".
Simone Matthews told Belfast Live she had bought her tickets for last week's concert through the pre-sale on Ticketmaster. However, she ended up being moved to an area away from where her tickets were.
She bought one wheelchair ticket, one companion ticket and an extra ticket for the SSE Arena show. "The tickets I received were for the ground floor, with entry by door 2," Simone told Belfast Live.
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"We stood in the queue from 5.45pm until the doors opened at 6.30pm. When we were about to go in we got pulled to the side and asked if our tickets were for the ground floor and when I replied yes, I was then told that no wheelchairs were allowed on the ground floor."
Simone tried to explain that she would be fine on the ground floor but was told she had no choice but to change her tickets. She was then sent to the customer service desk.
"I was again told that under no circumstances were wheelchairs allowed on the floor even though the tickets clearly stated wheelchair and floor position," she said. "The concierge staff were unhelpful and dismissive of the situation. I kept trying to explain to them that personally I know my body I know my limits and I would manage on the ground floor and I was shut down every time."
It was decided that she and her friends would watch the gig from seats by door 3, which were to the side of the stage. However, the new seats meant that Simone and her pals would only see Westlife from the side, or their backs if they moved to the front of the stage.
"As we were getting into the lift a staff member came and asked if we had been sorted, we said we've been told to go up to door 3," Simone said. "He commented that these weren't good seats and he would see what he could do.
"He returned a minute or so later and apologetically explained that seats at door 4 were the best he could do. He was very helpful and he went out of his way and couldn't apologise enough and said he had tried his best and was sorry."
Simone admitted that her experience at the concert was ruined after she and her friends were downgraded. She said: "It felt like they were being punished, getting stuck in bad seats, because of my disability."
"We were some of the only ones in that area because the seats were so rubbish. I understand with computers and stuff sometimes there are glitches in the system, but at the end of the day if no wheelchairs are allowed on the ground floor, there shouldn't have been tickets for wheelchairs on the ground floor.
"I'm not saying it's the people at the SSE's fault specifically, obviously they didn't give me the tickets, so I'm not blaming them as such. I just don't understand how in this day and age how something like this could happen."
A spokesperson for the SSE Arena said they had addressed the issue with Simone and were working on ways to ensure it did not happen again.
"We are aware of this situation and have been in contact with the customer directly to apologise for the standard of service they received," the spokesperson said. "To ensure the safety of wheelchair users, we do not permit wheelchairs on a standing floor, given the lateral movements and dynamics of the crowd.
"This is a standard procedure across the UK in venues of similar size and is in place to ensure the safety of our customers, which is paramount. We are currently working with Ticketmaster to investigate how these tickets were available for purchase to ensure that this does not happen again."
Westlife are performing in Dublin this week with three gigs in the 3Arena. The band will also headline the New Year's Eve festival in Dublin city centre.
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