Beyond wheelchair ramps: the full spectrum of festival accessibility

Originally published on Licklist

The days of dancing in a festival field are currently behind us. Thanks to Covid, they’ve taken a virtual shift with many labels offering online alternatives via live streams or virtual reality.

Disabled people have been requesting these options for a "long time" but it's something that's been "frequently ignored" or deemed impossible. So, why did it have to take a pandemic to make it happen?

Photo credit: Hanny Naibaho via Unsplash

Whilst many festivals have accessibility facilities and disability schemes, this doesn’t help those who physically can’t attend the event. For some people like Fuchsia Carter, 35, the only way to enjoy a festival is through a screen at home which means it's more often than not, impossible.

She says: “I've requested online versions of events numerous times but I never heard back at all. I would always be sent to a website that normally just said they have platforms and disabled loos as if that was the only thing they could provide.”

Fuchsia explains how accessibility goes further than just a toilet and things like wheelchair access, sign language and virtual platforms all make the experience easier.

Although mainstream festivals like Glastonbury and The Isle of Wight are screened on TV, many events are still not available for at-home viewing, cutting many disabled people out of the picture.

Photo credit: Karolina Grabowska via Pexels

Fuchsia says: If you could put the festivals on YouTube and pay to watch what you wanted, that would be amazing.”

Leonard Cheshire is an organisation that helps people with disabilities to find opportunities, fighting for their fundamental rights.

Nick Bishop, communications manager at the charity, has cerebral palsy and is a full-time wheelchair user, which means attending a festival isn’t an option for him due to a lack of accessibility.

He says: "Attending a festival far from home is tricky and sleeping on the floor in a tent is simply impossible. It’s hard to find fully accessible camping options for people using a large power chair. Especially at outdoor events, accessible toilets can be too small; this is not something I want to find when I get to a festival.”

He suggests that if event companies offered a virtual element, this could solve the problem.

Nick continued: “People watching online could pay for a virtual ticket, and still get to enjoy the music.”