Oliver Harrison went to see Robbie Williams at Aviva Studios with his wife Suzann
Robbie Williams performed at Manchester’s Aviva Studios on Friday, February 27(Image: Stephen Farrell)
A man has described how attending a Robbie Williams gig in Manchester with his wife turned into a ‘traumatic experience’ he wants to forget.
Oliver Harrison, 45, from Stockport, attended Robbie Williams’ gig at Aviva Studios on Friday, February 27, alongside his wife Suzann. After initially expecting to have an ‘amazing night’, Oliver ended up feeling ‘distressed’ and ‘overwhelmed’, and now wants to raise awareness about neurodivergent people at music events.
After enjoying the support act – Lottery Winners – Oliver, a civil servant, briefly separated from his wife to get them both a drink before Robbie Williams came on stage. But when he tried to find his wife again in the crowd, he was faced with ‘hostility’ from other fans in the audience.
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Oliver tried to text Suzann to find her location, but there was no phone signal, so he tried to find her in the crowd. But when he tried to make his way through the crowd, he experienced some ‘awful’ behaviour.
Oliver, who is autistic, told the Manchester Evening News: “As I politely passed people I said ‘excuse me, I’m just trying to find my wife’ I found several people just either did not move or actively used their body to block my path. It was as if they felt that I was intentionally invading their personal space. This happened several times.
Robbie Williams performed at Aviva Studios in Manchester on Friday, February 27(Image: Stephen Farrell)
“Eventually I started to become distressed as I couldn’t see my wife anywhere and more and more people were blocking my path. I tried to stand still instead and look over the heads of the crowd but then other people around me started to say I was blocking their view, although the stage was empty at this point between the set up of Robbie’s band.”
Oliver explained that despite ‘apologising repeatedly’ to the people around him, they appeared to be getting ‘more and more hostile’ the further he went into the crowd.
He continued: “Having spotted a lady in the crowd who appeared the same height and had the same hair colour as my wife I then made my way towards another section of the crowd, towards the front of the stage, where things took an unexpected ugly turn.
“Again apologising as I made my way through the crowd, I first came across a male who used his body to block my and said ‘go back’, but when I explained I was looking for my wife he said ‘well you didn’t come past me’ which I thought was a strange thing to say in the middle of a large crowd.
This image shows the crowd at Aviva Studios on Friday, February 27(Image: Aaron Parsons Photography / @aaronparsonsphotograhy)
“Moving away from him in a different direction I found myself in the middle of a group of people who started shouting at me for blocking their view of the empty stage. They were coming at me from all sides and started to feel like I was close to an autistic meltdown. I tried repeatedly to say ‘I’m just looking for my wife I’ve lost her’ but then I started to feel shoved from several directions.
“It made me feel overwhelmed and I went into fight or flight mode thinking I may be under attack. That’s when a woman full on shoulder barged me and a male forcefully shoved me from the side. Both appeared to be normal middle aged people which was a shock!”
Oliver continued: ‘I shouted “stop it. Stop it. I’m autistic. I’m just trying to find my wife’ but then it was like the whole crowd turned on me and I just put my hands up to protect myself and pushed the man back who was still shoving me.”
He told the M.E.N. that at this point security staff came over, and he was escorted to a welfare tent where he was given some water and allowed to sit down and decompress from what he described as a ‘very frightening and overstimulating’ situation.
Oliver continued: “Worried my wife had been on her own in a large crowd for a while now I went back in to the venue again, this time retracing my steps from the bar to where we were originally stood. By this time Robbie had taken to the stage and the crowd appeared to be moving a bit. I spotted my wife immediately now bouncing up and down to her favourite artist in the world.
“I now managed to navigate the crowd around her by pointing to her and saying that’s my wife, and luckily this time no one blocked my way.”
Oliver said he wanted ‘to bring attention to the experience of neurodivergent people at music venues and how hidden disabilities can be dismissed by others’.
“When Robbie Williams took to the stage he was open about his own personal struggles with neurodiversity and ADHD,” he said. “I don’t think some of the crowd got the message going off their behaviour last night.
Robbie Williams performed at Aviva Studios in Manchester on Friday, February 27(Image: Stephen Farrell)
“It made what was supposed to be an amazing night seeing my wife’s favourite artist a traumatic experience I want to forget.”
A spokesperson from Aviva Studios told the M.E.N: “The gig was well within our legal capacity for the warehouse space, but we can understand that the environment can be overwhelming for some especially as the event was sold-out with a highly engaged audience.
“Assistance was provided to a member of our audience who required the use of our dedicated welfare area. Factory International is committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment for all.
“We have a number of processes in place to help provide a high-quality accessible experience for neurodiverse audiences which include but are not limited to a dedicated accessible entrance, dedicated access stewards, welfare areas outside of the main performance space and Ear defenders and sensory kits available on request.”
Christine Flintoft-Smith, Head of Autism Accreditation and Projects at the National Autistic Society, said: “Going to a concert can be a challenging experience for some autistic people due to the loud music, stage lighting and busy crowds, which may cause anxiety if an autistic person has sensory sensitivities.
“Tools such as ear-defenders, fidget toys, and tinted glasses, in addition to providing the opportunity to move to a ‘safe space’ away from the sensory triggers, may help to prevent autistic people from becoming overwhelmed at such venues. Small changes such as these can make a huge difference to the experiences of autistic people and their families.
“We have lots of information for businesses on how to provide an autism-friendly environment, including our Autism Friendly Award, available on our website: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/autism-know-how/autism-accreditation/autism-friendly-award”