– It’s not possible. “It’s absolutely barbaric,” exclaims the mother of two, who hails from Wore outside Dansberg, when contacted by NRK.
Mari Billing-Sivertsen and her husband Andreas were a bit shocked when they had to book tickets for this year’s edition of Putty Bluety Bot at the Oslo Spectrum.
– I couldn’t believe what I was hearing when my husband told me that we also had to pay full price for Adam, she says, referring to her three-month-old son.
The Billings-Sivertson family is gearing up for Christmas celebrations.
Photo: Private
Family tradition
For Billing-Sivertsen, the traditional Christmas program brings back fond childhood memories.
– Mom used to take me and my little brother to this play before Christmas when we were little. My brother and I have auditioned to be on stage in this performance.
Tickets were ordered through the Ticketmaster service, which sells tickets for many sporting and cultural events.
– We contacted Ticketmaster as we could not understand that the ticket price of NOK 495 also applies to children. They referred us to organizer Oslo Spectrum Arena, says Billing-Sivertsson.
A fee of NOK 35 to 40 per ticket is included in the price.
Marie Billing-Sivertson and her son Adam, almost three months.
Photo: Private
On November 20, Billing-Sivertsson emailed Oslo Spectrum Arena AS to ask if it was indeed correct that she would have to pay the full ticket price for her three-month-old son.
Silence from Spectrum
– Of course, I understand that our 2.5-year-old daughter should have her own ticket, but she, who is only 2.5 months old, surely shouldn’t have her own ticket? “He can’t carry anything, he lies on my chest in a baby carrier and sleeps through the entire performance,” she wrote in an email.
The short answer from Oslo Spektrum Arena AS was clear:
– Hey hey. Sorry, your son must have a ticket too.
NRK interacted with reception on Sunday in Oslo Spectrum. There we were referred to General Manager Per-Ole Moen.
On Sunday, NRK tried to contact Moen through phone and SMS.
Huge support on social media
Since daughter Saga will also attend the Christmas show on Saturday 16 December, the ticket price for the small family was close to NOK 2,000.
Oslo Spectrum allows children under two to enter the ice show at Disney for free, so a mother of two is surprised that everyone is being charged full price at the Putty Plooty Bot.
– Many still don’t understand, says Billing-Sivertson, who received massive support and reactions after sharing a post about ticket prices on Facebook and Instagram.
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