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Babies will be banned from the Olympics unless they have their own ticket - even if they were not conceived when their parents bought seats.
2012 organiser Locog has said every child, including babies carried in their parents' arms, must have a ticket.
A press spokesman said the Olympics helpline had received calls from pregnant women and expectant fathers whose babies will be a few weeks old when the Games start. They have been told they can try to buy an extra ticket for their chosen event otherwise the infant will be excluded.
Locog risks appearing anti-babies compared with other organisations. It is common practice for airlines and train companies to allow babies to travel free of charge as long as they sit on their parents' lap.
The issue has attracted fury on the Mumsnet website. One woman said: "The whole thing is ridiculous, there are people who bought tickets before their babies were even conceived - how are they supposed to know to buy a ticket for a child that doesn't exist yet?"
And an expectant mother wrote: "There are no children's tickets for the horse jumping so I have to pay £95 to have a three-month-old in a sling!!!"
Another woman accused the organisers of discrimination: "It is generally accepted that a new baby is an adjunct of its mother, especially if breastfeeding."
For more visit www.mumsnet.com
Reader views (7)
are fat people gonna be charged for taking up twice as much room - and who would want to take a baby to such a boring event anyway , god help them
- coe basher, London, 30/01/2012 16:55
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stupid comes to mind
if the problem is crying babies, what are you going to do when parents bring their babies and have a ticket? complain about the noise?
- pat, london, 26/01/2012 17:02
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Another PR disaster for the Olympics. I fully expect they'll be a charge for using the toilets too. This is called recouping your losses!
- Dobbs, London, 25/01/2012 19:27
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Infants do often take up a lot of room, especially when all their paraphernalia is accounted for. As an aside, they also often cry a lot in noisy environments. So it is quite right that they and their accoutrements should have their own seat. Otherwise, the folks next to them are going to be dis-accommadated.
- helen, norwich, 25/01/2012 19:04
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Babies have more sense than to take part in the Olympic Fiasco.
- Baron von Richtofen, Biggin Hill, 24/01/2012 20:29
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Hey, I'm a supporter of capitalism - but this is just ridiculous. If a mother's arms are a ticketable seat, does that mean that unoccupied women can be sat on by the seat jumpers trying to get closer to the action? Or will 'available' female laps (or hey - lets be entirely equality minded here - spare dad's laps too!) be on sale at the ticket office? Come on! A sense of proportion (literally in this case) is called for.
- Rogan, Irving, 24/01/2012 18:55
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You lot are lucky not to be charged if your pregnant ,taking up twice the amount of room as the other spectators,its going to be crowded enough.!!
- Davey_Buoy, Chertsey, 24/01/2012 16:35
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