BBC Radio 2 Live: Couple cancels trip to Leeds music festival after chairs U-turn from organisers

Tricia Penny, along with her husband Alan, had spent more than £200 on tickets for BBC Radio 2 Live in Temple Newsam, as well as £500 on a hotel room for the weekend.

The couple live in Kidderminster, meaning a 150-mile journey to watch pop acts such as Robbie Williams, Tears For Fears and Simple Minds at the festival, set for September 17 and 18.

But Tricia, 59, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, and says her and her husband have now decided not to go, due to the impossibility of attending two day-long events without seating.

The YEP has already received numerous complaints from attendees earlier this week, who say attendees should be allowed to bring their own chairs, as the event is likely to attract an older audience.

The BBC had responded by saying the terms had been changed due to safety concerns.

Tricia said: "What, so a load of 60-year-old adults are going to beat one another up with chairs?

"What do they think we are going to do with a chair that’s a safety concern?

"It’s more of a safety concern making us stand. How many people are they going to have collapse? You have people of a certain age standing who will go anyway because they have spent all the money, and they will collapse because they can’t stand up for that amount of time.

"The venue is a flipping park, how can a park not allow chairs?”

The tickets were purchased by Tricia and other music fans on the understanding that attendees were allowed to bring chairs, as they had been when the event had previously been held in Hyde Park, London.

But the BBC confirmed this week that the terms had been changed due to “event safety reasons”.

Tricia said she had received an email informing her of this on Saturday, September 3 – just two weeks before the festival.

“We have always taken a chair each to the event in Hyde Park without any problem,” said Tricia. "When we have been to concerts at Hyde Park, the vast majority of the audience are our age and older.”

The BBC website states customers cannot bring chairs or shooting sticks without “permission in writing from the access team”.

An online form to apply for access permission states the deadline for applications was Friday, September 2.

"For them to turn round and say ‘you have to register as disabled’ is ridiculous,” added Tricia.

A BBC spokesperson said: "All locations and events are different. The site-specific health and safety in place to ensure the safe movement of those attending, including in case of an emergency, are based on a wide range of factors. These include the size and landscape of the venue, the number of stages and size of the audience.

"We appreciate that some people are disappointed about not being able to bring a chair to Radio 2 Live in Leeds, but hope they can understand that we must prioritise the overall safety of all those attending the event.”

Owner of the Temple Newsam site Leeds City Council has been approached for a comment.