Silvia Stoyanova, a 35-year-old woman in a wheelchair, is a big fan of pop star Taylor Swift, so much so that she bought tickets for a concert that the singer will hold at the San Siro in July 2024. Tickets, which Silvia, however, will not be able to use, because the organization of the event, which costs about 300 euros, informed the girl that there is not enough space in the area. Following a video posted by Stoyanova on social media, she launched a petition on the Change.org platform to make concerts accessible to people with disabilities as well, gaining 34,000 signatures, just a few hundred out of her goal of 35,000.
Sylvia’s protest
“Like all people with disabilities in Italy, I had to fill out a form that could be downloaded from the site of the Italian organizers of the event, fill it out, attach disability documentation and send it by email,” Silvia explains. org – I was told on the phone by the secretary, who will take the trouble to “take care” of us, people with disabilities, as soon as tickets on sale on Ticketone run out. VIP ticket in front of the stage, on the lawn. how these decisions were made was never made public or written in black and white on the organisers’ website. Unfortunately, being a private event, this agency is free to dispose of things as it sees fit. I am one of the people who were excluded from the event . So I called the agency, informing them that I bought a VIP ticket on the lawn in front of the stage (a wheelchair accessible area) and their response was: In any case, sitting in a wheelchair, you cannot participate, even if you have there is this note, assuming that if I could get up and walk around, there would be no problems.
Lisa Noha: “Concerts are more inclusive”
The case was also intervened by regional councilor Lisa Noja, leader of the Third Pole in Lombardy, former member of the Legislative Assembly of the XIII, who published on her social channels a video in which she expresses her full solidarity with the petition of the 35-year old Milanese. “Many times I experienced concerts that I was forced to live, separated from a group of friends in reserved and secluded places where I could only go with a companion: in my youth this often hurt me,” said Lisa Noya. “Therefore, I want to join the petition launched by Silvia Stoyanova and emphasize that I intend to take a leading role in connection with my political role, to involve artists, concert organizers and institutions, so that a solution can be found that will allow everyone to experience full live performances, rather than in remote isolated spaces with a limited number of participants.
