Mark Chapman: Oasis fans faking disability to get cheaper tickets, ditching wheelchairs as concert starts

A disabled Oasis fan has raised the alarm that dozens of fans have been faking disabilities in a bid to unfairly use the accessible areas at the show.

Mark Chapman, 32, was left gobsmacked after attending Oasis’ Manchester show, where he says scores of fans ditched their wheelchairs and crutches as the concert kicked off.

“When Oasis came on they all jumped out of their wheelchairs and dropped their crutches and stood up for the whole gig for two hours,” Mr Chapman told Manchester Evening News.

Mr Chapman has lived with Duchenne muscular dystrophy since he was a child, and started using a wheelchair at the age of nine.

As a regular concert goer, venue accessibility is something Mr Chapman is familiar with, but he said it was a struggle to get a spot on the accessible platform at Heaton Park on July 12.

He said many fans who were not disabled had overrun the place, and therefore made it difficult for actually disabled people to attend the show.

“There’s people who needed to be there who couldn’t,” he said. “It’s really frustrating.”

His carer, Sam Priest, was also shocked at the scene.

“We were joking Jesus Christ must have been on the platforms, there were so many miracles performed that night,” he said.

When booked at first instance, wheelchair user tickets include a free ticket for a carer.

This leads to the assumption that some crooked concert goers might have snapped up tickets not meant for them, but also got a two for one deal at the expense of disabled people who missed out.

Some resellers also hiked up the prices for wheelchair access tickets to over $1250.

Ticketmaster has released a statement about its accessible ticket policy.

“To make sure accessible tickets only go to those who need them, we verify all accessible bookings made on Ticketmaster. After purchasing, fans have three weeks to submit their accessibility requirements via their Ticketmaster account or app. If they are unable to do so, those tickets are cancelled,” the statement read.

“The unauthorised resale of accessible tickets for profit on these websites is yet another reason we fully support the Government’s proposed industry-wide resale cap. As well as protecting fans from inflated prices by removing the incentive for touts, it would help ensure that accessible tickets are reserved for those who genuinely need them.”