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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Charlie Duffield

Woman 'furious' after she's 'denied' entry to BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Coventry

A former ITV News journalist was 'denied' entry into the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend this Saturday night.

Balvinder Sidhu was left furious after organisers refused to admit her into the venue at approximately 9pm.

She explained that she and her husband had bought two tickets for the Big Weekend as they wanted to watch Calvin Harris perform, but said their hopes were crushed when organisers were told the pair had "stopped letting people in."

Once she was refused entry, Balvinder expressed her frustration in a series of tweets.

She said that she was both 'furious' and 'really disappointed' about being told she was not allowed into the venue.

Balvinder filming outside the newly refurbished Coventry train station (Balvinder filming outside the newly refurbished Coventry train station)

Balvinder wrote:“Really disappointed/furious I have purchased two legitimate tickets to the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Coventry via @Ticketmaster and have just arrived to be denied entry because organisers say they’ve stopped letting people in - when I booked nothing about late arrivals.”

On the night she even begged Greg James via Twitter but did not appear to receive a response from the Radio 1 DJ.

She went on to explain why she arrived at the Big Weekend an hour before the event was due to finish.

She said: “What really upsets me is that I rarely get a night out with my husband and had organised babysitters just to see @CalvinHarris and I missed @edsheeran because it was my mum’s 80th celebration in the afternoon.”

Balvinder is now trying to reclaim her losses by requesting a refund from Ticketmaster.

The crowd reacts as Harry Styles performs on stage during Radio 1's Big Weekend 2022 (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

But she said the response she received from the company was that "refunds or exchanges have to be processed before the event."

Angry Twitter users leapt to her defence, and branded the way the situation was handled as "shockingly poor".

Jack Thompson said: “Very sorry to hear this Balvinder. It makes absolutely no sense. You purchased the tickets legitimately to see a specific performance at a scheduled time. Imagine if they didn't let in a boxing audience while the undercard was still going on. And what if you couldn't find the venue?”

@mcarbl said: “Shockingly poor. Chargeback on your card, perhaps?” Manjit Gill said: “This is not good and the organisers just need to show some common sense - a ticket is a ticket and anyone could be delayed or last-minute issues can crop up.”

A spokesman for BBC Radio 1 said: “The health and safety of everyone that attends Radio 1’s Big Weekend is always our primary concern including those entering and exiting site.”

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