Venue apologises after visually impaired Beyoncé fan refused VIP entry and made to give up cane

A visually impaired Beyoncé fan has said she was refused entry to the VIP section at the concert and was made to give up her visual aid.

Esther Obigbesan purchased a £489 standing VIP ticket for the singer’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, stop of the Cowboy Carter Tour.

However, the concertgoer was left feeling “dehumanised” after staff allegedly told her she was a “health and safety risk” due to her cane.

Speaking to BBC Radio London on Tuesday (22 July), she recalled being refused entry by security staff to the pitch area, where her ticket and wristband permitted entry.

“They just automatically started talking to the ladies that were with me being like, ‘she can’t go down there, she can’t go down there’,” she told the outlet.

Obigbesan recalled informing staff that her long cane was for visual support and that her mobility was not impaired, as staff said walking aids were not permitted in the standing area.

She had already contacted show staff before the performance, which took place on 10 June, to notify them of her access requirements. However, she had not received a response.

“I suggested, ‘Can someone from security maybe keep an eye on me? I was going to be near the back, I’m not going to be right at the front,” she told host Eddite Nestor.

“I couldn’t even finish my sentence, and it was, ‘no, no, we can’t do that…’ Like I was being ridiculous.”

Eventually, Obigbesan was made to part with her visual aid to remain in her ticketed area.

“What happened is I gave up my cane,” she tearfully explained. “I gave up my cane so that I could have access to the pitch. As much as I can walk without it, it was more my confidence and my independence.

“To them, it wasn’t a problem; ‘this girl, it doesn’t matter’. They weren’t seeing me as a person; I was just this problem.”

After asking a member of security later on to help her find the toilets, she came out to find a safety officer worried that others on the pitch wouldn’t know she was visually impaired.

Although she offered to have her cane back, which also notifies people of her visual impairments, she was instead moved to a seated area two levels above where she originally purchased tickets for.

“It’s a three-hour show, but I barely remember any of it because I was crying so much,” she said.

Tottenham Hotspur said via a statement: “We accept this was not reflective of the VIP package Esther had purchased via the promoter and that her overall experience did not meet the standards we consider acceptable as a venue.”

It explained that the access team acted “in the interests of Esther’s safety” but acknowledged that the experience “fell far short” of expectations.

Leigh Luke, customer services operations manager at the stadium, told the BBC that the venue has since improved staff training, reviewed briefings and updated communications with ticket holders.

He said: “It’s not about seeing the disability aid or the visual aid,” he said. “It’s about seeing the patron… and ensuring that we communicate with them, and not through them, which is what happened in this place.”

He said that the venue has apologised to Obigbesan, refunded her ticket, and invited her to an upcoming Kendrick Lamar concert as a guest.