Music festival awarded gold status for accessibility

There are easy ways to make your home more accessible, such as installing a straight stairlift and handrails, but when it comes to music festivals it’s usually a bit more difficult. However, the British Summer Time festival is ahead of the curve and has proved their long-term commitment to inclusivity and access for deaf and disabled music fans.

The BST festival’s continuous commitment to accessibility has been recognised and awarded with Gold Status for Attitude is Everything’s Charter of Best Practice. This follows the news in the same year that the BST won the awards for Customer Service and Ticketing Without Barriers at the Outstanding Attitude Awards.

The festival’s organiser AEG Presents partnered with Attitude Is Everything, a disability-led charity to provide a high standard of access across the British Summer Time festival. The initiatives began prior to the event with information about the festival available in audio and easy-to-read copies. A helpful customer service team were also available on email and phone.

At the festival, AEG Presents and Attitude Is Everything included three accessible viewing areas over two stages, each with roaming drink vendors. They also had British Sign Language interpreters for all acts performing on The Great Oak Stage along with accessible toilets at every block, hearing induction loops and a dedicated access hub and entrance.

Attitude Is Everything’s volunteering manager told Music Week: “We’ve been working with AEG and BST Hyde Park for over five years and have been impressed by how the festival has developed their access over this time. Accessibility works best when it something that all staff members engage in, from a senior level to frontline staff, and this is certainly the case with Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park.

“We have been particularly impressed with how the festival has engaged with staff training around access, provided fantastic customer service on the ground and implemented our Charter recommendations, as well as the clear ambition to be as accessible as they can possibly be. AEG has been a fantastic company to work with and we are confident that, even with the gold award, they will continue to raise the bar for access to ensure all customers have the best experience possible at the shows.”

The senior event manager at AEG Presents Jenny Hamada says: “Making sure our events are open to all is a top priority of ours, and we believe it truly sets us apart from our competitors. Recognition from Attitude is Everything, who we’ve worked with for many years, is a heartening sign that these efforts are making a real difference.”

AEG Presents are determined to continue their efforts to allow everyone to appreciate the music and performances, they plan to introduce guided tours for the next festival for those who require additional assistance.