UK music venues, festivals and disabled fans
A study of 251 live music venues and 135 festivals, backed by Arts Council England and carried out by disabled music fans on behalf of the campaign group Attitude is Everything (AIE), found that a majority failed to provide adequate information on access for people with disabilities. Among independent venues, 69 per cent gave no prior details at all and 50 per cent of the remainder offered information described by the report as “poor”.
The findings provoked Emily Eavis, organiser of the Glastonbury Festival, to “urge all festival and venue organisers to ensure that they provide high quality and comprehensive access information” for disabled music fans.
Fans recounted stories of being ordered out of disabled toilets for taking too long, having their vital medical equipment subjected to searches and being doubted by staff over their need for a raised platform because they are not wheelchair users.
A survey by The Independent revealed that venues including the 100 Club in London’s Oxford Street, considered a birthplace of punk; Brighton’s Coalition nightclub and Thekla, an award-winning floating venue at Bristol docks, give no details of access or facilities offered to disabled patrons.
Similar accusations can be directed at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl (which has no website, merely a ticket service), and the Dublin Castle in Camden Town, London, a long-time stalwart of the indie scene and a favourite hangout of the late Amy Winehouse.
But Suzanne Bull, the chief executive of AIE and a wheelchair user, said festivals and venues were failing to give adequate information on accessibility and would lose out on “the purple pound” – the custom of disabled people.
“If a venue or festival doesn’t provide any access information, I’m at the stage of life where, because I’m older and I can’t be bothered any more, then I’ll go and spend my money somewhere that the information is really clear,” she said.
In its report, AIE said there was a “clear need” for “universal guidance” on disabled access across the industry.
Source: Independent
