TEAM GB stars fume at the “ridiculous” Paris 2024 rule of having to pay for a full-priced ticket for their infants.
Out of Great Britain’s 327-strong delegation, a number of them are parents who will have their children heading to the French capital to watch them compete.
Paris 2024 ticket rules have stated that even newborn babies must have a paid seat even though they will not use it.
The Paris Olympic policy states: “All spectators will need a valid ticket to access an Olympic venue, including children of all ages. The same rates will apply.”
British track cyclist Dan Bigham, who has a one-year-old son Theo, said: “It seems so illogical that I have got to buy a ticket for a one-year-old.
“Officially he takes a seat, even though he won’t be able to sit on it at a year old. It’s annoying. Is it worth £300? He won’t remember it. But it will be nice to have him there.”
And British rower Mathilda Hodgkins-Bryne whose two-year-old son Freddie has travelled to Paris said: “It is absolutely ridiculous.
“Any human being, even if they are in a sling, they have to have a ticket.
“I have never had to pay for rowing tickets for Freddie before given his age. We know that with the noise of the Games, he is literally going to come into my race and leave, but we have still got to pay for that.”
Olympic athletes are guaranteed two tickets to each session that they compete in which they must still pay for.
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Hodgkins-Byrne, 29, added: “By having to pay for little ones, who are not even going to sit there and enjoy it, it means people like our parents can’t go.
“It’s a bit of a shame. But I will be significantly less stressed and less upset if Freddie is there than if he wasn’t.”
The ticketing terms and conditions also mentioned that “access to the venues is not recommended for children below the age of four”.
The policy has even surprised certain spectators who purchased Olympic tickets before they even became parents
London 2012 had the same policy but eventually u-turned their decision to allow infants under 12 months to enter venues without a ticket.
