Lorena Burriel

When an accessible venue produces an inaccessible event

A working note on the things a venue checklist misses once a live event begins.

Working note · Not a finished report

People crossing a large museum hall; one person uses a wheelchair.
Observation

An event can use an accessible venue and still exclude people through the programme, viewing areas or the way participation is organised.

What worked

Clear information before the event, more than one way to take part and disabled people invited as contributors.

What got in the way

Access needs collected and then forgotten, areas reached only by steps and last-minute solutions that leave the participant waiting.

What it suggests

The venue is only one part of the event. Accessibility has to belong to the programme and the production plan too.

This is a working note, not a finished report. It sets out what I want to examine when I document a real event.

Event organisers often ask the venue whether it is accessible. A “yes” can end the conversation far too early.

A participant experiences the ticketing process, the travel information, the queue at the entrance and everything that happens once the doors open. They may need to reach a viewing area or a stage, find somewhere to sit during a break or work out whether the emergency plan includes them.

A participant can still spend the day waiting for somebody to solve problems the building survey never covered.

What I want to find out

Where do live events still create dependence or separation after describing themselves as accessible? I also want to look at who owns the answer when a participant shares an access need before the event.

Follow the participant's day from the invitation to the journey home. Every access request needs a person responsible for the answer.