How To Make Festivals More Accessible

It’s festival season! The sun is out, Aperol spritz is on the go – and so much music, just ready to be enjoyed by all. Or maybe you’re headed to a literary festival, arms filled with paperbacks by the dozen. Whatever the weather, there is something to be enjoyed by everyone when festival season comes calling. 

In recent years, festivals, and other such outdoor events, have been negatively spotlighted for the lack of accessibility for disabled individuals. Access has been a failure on too many occasions; I think often of the occasions where non-disabled people have openly advocated in favour of invading disabled seating, as something of an ‘advantage’ to themselves. I often think of how wheelchair users have to spend hours on hold to an ‘access’ helpline, just to be able to get a seat they can actually get into. Disabled people have the same right to enjoy festivals just as much as anyone else – which begs the question: what can festivals do about that? 

Accessibility is important; it means that disabled people can attend events, get into buildings, as well as having their access needs met. Businesses are underestimating this audience – the spending power of disabled people is in its billions, but the lack of accessibility means this money is being spent elsewhere. 

5 Tips to Create More Accessible Festivals

How can festivals reach their disabled audiences, and ensure that all festival goers have the best experience possible? Here we have five points for festivals everywhere to take on board, as well as why it is in their interest to implement these ideas as standard: 

1. Make the accessibility information upfront and transparent 

It is too often the case that basic information about the accessibility of the event is really hard to find. And it’s usually the same story – having to phone ahead of the event itself, being transferred around departments, no one quite knowing what’s going on and not getting anywhere… 

To attend a public, cultural event, a range of access needs have to be considered by an individual – such as if there are accessible toilets, if a wheelchair transfer is possible, the lighting, width of doors to pass through in a wheelchair, and more. Yet we are seeing so often in the aftermath of large scale event there is such a sense of frustration. Disabled people may need extra help, but they can go to events as adults – with autonomy and agency. Not having the vital information easily accessible denies us these two very basic standards we should all have. 

Think about the accessibility information you have to offer. Can you set up a designated helpline, or an email address, for disabled festival goers? Is there an interactive map that could be embedded clearly into your website, to spell out how to attend the event? Is there anything else that you can potentially think of, in order to make this experience better for someone attending the festival? 

Make this information transparent and upfront from the get-go. Briefing a marketing team will also mean continuity across all communications, as well as reaching more people. 

2. Create accessible content

We do not all enjoy art in one form – but we can include everyone with an approach that is inclusive of all disabilities. 

When communicating with your audience, multiple communication forms need to be considered, so that everyone can engage with it. When it comes to social media and other communication forms, make sure that there are captions for videos, alt text on images, and warnings for flash photography and anything else that may flicker. Want to learn more?

Check out our collection of accessibility tips for various marketing platforms.

3. Consider the way in which you share the location of the venue 

Oftentimes, the only standard of direction for drivers is to have an embedded Google Maps widget on the event’s website. We can do better than that!

Think about other potential formats for mapping out the geography of the event site – there are companies that create guides around the accessibility set up, for instance. Or you can create a written description of the best ways to access the venue, and have into consideration different modes of transport that people might be using to get there. 

4. Think of the format you are communicating in 

Communication comes in multiple formats. Using multiple ways opens up an opportunity to a wider audience. 

Have a separate phone line for disability inquiries, as well as an email address that is monitored around the clock; not everyone can make or engage with a phone call. Braille formats and social stories – such as having a guide for the site and order of events – are also other formats to invest in. 

5. Employ disabled consultants to conduct disability access audits before the event 

Disabled people are the experts on what it is like to live with a disability; they know their own body, their conditions, as well as what it is like to navigate through an inaccessible world. Why not allow them to inform your outreach to the disabled community? 

There are plenty of disabled consultants who are able to bring an extra dimension to their work of disability and lived experience – including at Purple Goat.

At a time of economic uncertainty, disposable income is still disposable income – and disabled people are an audience, too! More people will be able to come to events, such as festivals, when greater accessibility for all is on the table. The Purple Pound is a measurement of the total, collective spending power of disabled households – and is valued at an estimated £274 billion per year, in the UK alone. Here is a ‘slice’ of a pie so often undervalued, and an opportunity for the taking – which starts with the basic implementation of access measures by festivals everywhere.