Little Mix in Sheffield: Children in disabled section burst into tears after cameras blocked their view

Karen Jones purchased three tickets to watch the pop icons perform at the FLyDSA Arena on Tuesday, October 29 from the disabled section.

But, to her horror, when she arrived with her two young grandchildren they discovered that their view would be obstructed by moving cameras.

The 54-year-old complained to stewards who told her there was ‘nothing they could do because it was a sell-out gig’.

She said that the disappointment of not being able to see their music icons proved too much for her granddaughters who burst into tears.

“When I purchased the tickets it did not say there would be a restricted view from the platform,” Karen, from Huddersfield, said.

“The stewards said there was nowhere else for us to go. Unfortunately it ruined the gig for me and the girls.

“They are only 6 and 7-years-old and they were so excited for their first-ever gig. They’re massive Little Mix fans and it was such a let-down.

“They could hear the music but couldn’t see their heroes. It was all too much for them and they burst into floods of tears.”

After the gig, Karen messaged the FlyDSA Arena to voice her frustrations but was left disappointed with their response.

She said: “I told them about the problems and said when you pay £400 to go and watch a gig you expect a better view of the stars.

“I received a response asking why I did not go to the Information Desk and that there was nothing more they could do now.

“Nobody on the night told us that’s where we needed to go and I would not have wanted to drag a 6 and 7-year-old there just when the show is about to start.

"My main concern was comforting the kids as they were very upset about their seats, not running around trying to find the right person to speak to.

“Also, I am in a wheelchair so it is not easy for me to get around the arena quickly.”

Karen suffers from Dystonia, a movement disorder causing her muscles to contract uncontrollably, and has been using a wheelchair for 20 years.

She said that, if FlyDSA Arena continue to host gigs like this, they should reconsider where they position their cameras.

“I raised the issue because I was very disappointed with the seats and it took them a long time to come back with an unhelpful response,” Karen said.

“For future reference, if they are going to have gigs like that, they should not put a huge camera in front of the disabled bay.

“There are other places for the cameras where they would not obstruct anyone’s view. Even the back of the disabled bay because we’re not going to be standing up.

“I just want an apology from FlyDSA and for them to look at how they accommodate disabled guests.”

FlyDSA have issued an apology to Karen and her families and said they were not aware the Little Mix team were using this location for the cameras.

A spokesperson said: “Every show that comes to the Arena has a different set up and brings in their own staging, equipment & operators.

“We were not aware that the show were using this location to house one of their cameras to film the concert, it wasn’t something that was requested in advance and unfortunately not something that came to the attention of our events team.

“We do always request that if a customer has an issue that they bring it to our attention, it isn’t always something that can be resolved on sell out events but it would at least give us an opportunity to look at alternative solutions.

“We are really sorry that this occurred and that we were unable to resolve – please accept our sincere apologies.

“Having discussed the issue with our customers service team, stewards and events team we feel we will now be better placed to prevent any similar issues in the future.”