Is it correct to ban me from a concert without providing necessary proof that I was engaged in harmful or threatening behaviour?

Question

I received following email by a venue in London:

"Hi there

We are getting in touch as we are afraid we have had to refund your ticket for the event tonight. One of the artists performing has brought to our attention behaviour online that has made them feel very uncomfortable, and for their wellbeing and safety we have agreed it is best for you to not attend.

Regards ..."

I responded with the request to provide necessary evidence to make such a serious allegation. If they don’t provide any evidence, is there something I can do legally? What time frame should I allow them to provide me with the evidence? Calling someone a threat for someone else’s well-being and safety without proof and singling me out of attending a concert is falsity, no? T&C and the fact they refunded me would not apply here in the first place, correct?

Answer 1

A private venue normally has discretion over who may attend their premises, as long as it is not because of membership in a protected class under anti-discrimination law.

Note that the communication, as quoted, did not say that the banned person was a threat, but only that one of the performers felt uncomfortable.

I do not think that the banned person has any legal recourse, unless they can plausibly assert that this is a case of unlawful discrimination, which the question does not suggest.

Answer 2

As I’ve learned on this site, private businesses can exercise near total discretion in who they choose to serve and transact with, though with some exceptions.

In this case, I think that because they had already taken your money and thus willingly entered into a contract with you, the question would be determined by the terms and conditions of the contract, within the bounds of statutorily valid/fair contract terms in the context of consumer rights law. I’m not terribly well versed in this body of law, but could well easily imagine that just as tenancies can contain break clauses exercisable by the tenant though not the landlord, there could well be consumer rights statutes which say that once a business has taken your money you may be entitled to arbitrarily back out of the contract and request a refund under certain conditions but the business cannot unilaterally cancel the contract.

Further, I suspect that this could very likely implicate anti discrimination laws like the Equality Act 2010 on the basis that you are being discriminated against likely in retaliation for expressions of your political beliefs. While I’m on my way out the door currently, I’m heavily inclined to recall that that is a protected class under the equality act 2010 and they thus cannot refuse to serve you any more than they could hang a sign to say no tories (or communists) allowed.