Esther Obigbesan, a visually impaired woman, says her dream of attending a Beyoncé concert alone for the first time turned into a distressing experience after staff at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium denied her entry to the pitch with her walking aid.
Obigbesan, who uses a long cane to help detect obstacles, paid £489 for her ticket to see Beyoncé perform at Tottenham’s North London stadium — a long-anticipated moment that was meant to mark her first solo concert experience.
However, speaking to BBC Radio London, she said venue staff repeatedly refused to allow her to enter the standing area with her cane, citing a blanket policy against walking aids on the pitch.
“They kept saying, ‘we have a policy that we don’t let walking aids onto the pitch,’” Obigbesan recalled. “I suggested, can someone from security maybe keep an eye on me… I wouldn’t even finish my sentence and it was, ‘no, no, we can’t do that,’ like I was being ridiculous.”
Feeling forced to choose between her safety and attending the concert, Obigbesan ultimately gave up her cane to gain entry — a decision she says robbed her of her independence and made her feel invisible.
“As much as I can walk without it, it was more my confidence and my independence… I was just this problem,” she said.
A spokesperson for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has since apologized for the incident, issued a full refund, and acknowledged that Obigbesan’s experience “fell far short of the high standards we set for all fans.”
The club said it is reviewing its accessibility protocols in response.
