Olivia Dean’s Sydney concert sparks debate about concert etiquette

British singing sensation Olivia Dean brought her The Art of Loving Tour to Sydney over the weekend.

Dean performed to packed audiences at Sydney Olympic Park’s Afterpay Arena on Friday and Saturday, but one concertgoer was left disappointed.

Kitty O’Brien, 25, from Sydney, NSW, shared concert footage on social media showing her view from a seated ticket, which was obstructed by people standing in their seats in front of her.

O’Brien suffers from endometriosis and autoimmune conditions, which cause debilitating pain, joint instability and fainting episodes.

O’Brien told 7NEWS.com.au she was unable to secure accessible tickets, which are reserved for people with a disability, so purchased regular seated tickets for the Saturday event.

“Sadly seeing Olivia Dean in Sydney didn’t pan out the way I had hoped,” O’Brien captioned the clip.

“Also this is no hate to the person in front of me, they were only standing because everyone in the rows in front of them were, but it just sucks that people have normalised standing in seated areas lately??”

English singer-songwriter Dean performed live at the 2025 ARIA Awards, with her hit song Man I Need dominating the charts.

O’Brien said she paid $200 for the highly sought after tickets but was left disappointed by her experience and questioned whether this was appropriate concert etiquette.

Speaking to 7NEWS.com.au, O’Brien explained she wanted to speak out to raise awareness around the issue, especially for people attending concerts with a disability.

“Unfortunately it does deter me from attending concerts, if I’m not able to get an accessible seat,” O’Brien said.

“As a disabled person it takes a lot of energy to leave my house and attend events, so I don’t really want to waste that energy when I’ll be staring at someone’s back.

“I have a ticket to Hilary Duff’s concert coming up and I wasn’t able to get accessible seats for that, so I’m thinking I may have to sell my ticket sadly.”

O’Brien said she has experienced this before at a Taylor Swift concert.

“A lot of the people were very young, so I just assumed they weren’t used to concerts, but based on the comments I’ve received, it seems like a lot of people think standing up in seated areas is the norm,” O’Brien said.

“Which to me is confusing as I’ve been to over 50 concerts in the last 12 years and most times seated sections were majority people sitting.”

O’Brien’s Instagram post has since sparked an online debate, with many people saying it was normal to stand up and dance, even if they had purchased a seated ticket.

“Get up and have some fun. Australia has a thing about seated tickets and miserable people at concerts. Get a grip and enjoy yourself!” one person commented.

However, others were in favour of O’Brien’s view and believed people who purchased seated tickets should remain seated.

“I go to many concerts and always buy a seat because I want to sit and watch the concert. If I wanted to stand and dance, I would buy the floor tickets. I think it’s fine to get up and dance occasionally in the seated section but definitely not the whole show,” one person commented.

O’Brien clarified her post wasn’t meant to criticise anyone but to remind concert-goers to be mindful that some people in attendance may have a hidden condition or disability.

“That’s why I’ve kept my post up, regardless of the hate, because I think conversations about accessibility doesn’t happen enough,” O’Brien said.

Patrons with reserved seated tickets are generally allowed to stand up during performances, provided they remain in or immediately next to their assigned seat.

O’Brien said she didn’t speak to staff at the venue, as the concert was completely sold out and she assumed they would not be able to move her to another seat.

7NEWS.com.au has contacted Afterpay Arena for comment.