- Team GB stars have slammed ‘ridiculous’ Paris Olympics policy
- Some of Britain’s 327-player squad want their children to come to the match
- Mathilda Hodgkins-Bryne and Dan Bigham spoke to Mail Sport about the matter
Team GB stars have criticised Paris 2024’s ‘ridiculous’ policy of charging children full price for tickets.
A number of players from Great Britain’s 327-man squad and their parents and children will be in the French capital to watch the matches.
According to the ticket rules for Paris 2024, even newborn babies must have a paid seat, even if they will not use it.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said British rower Mathilda Hodgkins-Bryne, whose two-year-old son Freddie has travelled to Paris. “Every single person, even if they’re in a baby sling, has to have a ticket.
“I’ve never had to pay for rowing tickets for Freddie before, given his age. We know he’s literally going into my race and out of it with the noise of the Games, but we still have to pay for it.”
Team GB stars have criticised Paris 2024’s ‘ridiculous’ policy of children having to pay full price for tickets (pictured: Team GB rowing team)
Dan Bigham (pictured with wife Joss Lowden and son Theo) was one of the Team GB stars who spoke to Mail Sport about the matter
British track cyclist Dan Bigham, who has a one-year-old son, Theo, said: ‘It seems so illogical that I should have to buy a ticket for a one-year-old.
‘Officially he’s going to sit on it, even though he won’t be able to sit on it when he’s a year old. It’s annoying. Is it worth £300? He won’t remember it. But it’ll be nice to have him there.’
Athletes participating in the Olympic Games are only entitled to two tickets per session, which they must pay for themselves.
Hodgkins-Byrne, 29, added: ‘Having to pay for little ones, who don’t even sit down and enjoy it, means people like our parents can’t go. It’s a bit of a shame. But I’ll be considerably less stressed and upset if Freddie’s there than if he wasn’t.’
Track cyclist Bigham thought it was ‘illogical’ that he had to buy a ticket for a one-year-old
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The Paris Olympics policy states: ‘All spectators require a valid ticket to enter an Olympic venue, including children of all ages. The same rates apply.’
The ticket conditions state that ‘children under the age of four are not recommended to enter the venues’.
The policy has caught some spectators buying Olympic tickets before they even had a baby.
London 2012 initially had the same rule for all infants requiring a ticket. But a backlash caused organisers to do a U-turn two months before the Games and allow infants as young as 12 months old to enter venues without a ticket.
