Positive Response from LOCOG in respect of the Paralympic Ticketing Policy for Wheelchair Users

In August 2012, following the success of the London Olympic Games, Beth Davis-Hofbauer from Fareham in Hampshire, created an online petition in response to ticketing issues for wheelchair users; "I am a wheelchair user, with a four-year-old autistic son and a nineteen-month-old baby. Naturally we wanted to sit together and, particularly as it's the Paralympics, I assumed there would be adequate provision for this to happen. I was stunned to hear that there was no way that this could happen as there is a policy that wheelchair users can only be accompanied by one other person."Over a matter of just two weeks Beth gained an overwhelming 39,223 supporters for her petition which was presented to Mark Todd, the Accessibility Manager for LOCOG. LOCOG is the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games responsible for preparing and staging the London 2012 Games.As a result, Beth and many others have now been able to buy tickets allowing them to sit with their families. Furthermore, LOCOG also contacted Beth directly to inform her that they were “re-briefing” staff with regard to disabled seating.http://www.change.org/petitions/international-paralympic-committee-london2012-review-ticketing-policy-for-wheelchair-users