Venues and promoters are not doing enough to ensure that disabled people can easily attend live music events, a new report by UK charity Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has found.
Often, says the report, disabled tickets for shows are only available via premium rate telephone numbers, rather than online, and sometimes an event has passed before venues agree to accept 'proof of disability' required when providing some tickets. Those who do make it into venues often find that they are unable to sit with friends and family, due to limited number of extra seats in accessible areas, and toilet facilities are often lacking. The study also says that in some cases people in wheelchairs have been asked to leave before a performer finishes in order to "avoid disruption" for able-bodied customers.
The Academy Music Group last week confirmed that eight of its venues have now achieved silver status with the Attitude Is Everything scheme to make live music venues and events accessible to deaf and disabled gig-goers; the remaining six have bronze plus status.
Reconfirming his company's commitment to the scheme, AMG's COO Graham Walters told CMU: "Ticket sales for disabled patrons to our venues have increased significantly over the last two years. By working with Attitude Is Everything, we have created a realistic action plan to work through each stage of their Charter. A number of our venues were built in the early 1900s, thus we identify solutions for the best practical options that are achievable with each General Manager, taking on board feedback and training from Suzanne Bull and her team at Attitude Is Everything".
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