Crowd of people sitting on bleacher seats at an outdoor event, some wearing hats, smiling and interacting, with a industrial structures in the background.

Accessibility: Colours without Barriers Case Study (CZ)

The ‘Colours without Barriers’ project was established in 2011 when the Colours of Ostrava team noticed an increase in the number of visitors with a mobility impairment. The program’s first goal was to remove or adapt any physical barriers to allow free movement for all visitors on the festival site. Surfaces were made even and stairs were compensated for with ramps. “We even built a lift once, when we had a stage in a building only accessible by stairs,” says Pavla Slívová, Head of Booking & Artist Liaisons. Since then, the project has been continually expanded and today also offers services for visitors with a visual disability, hearing impairment and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For example:

General accessibility 
Woman in a wheelchair smiling and holding onto a sign with the accessible icon, at an outdoor event.
© Colours of Ostrava
Reduced mobility
A joyful scene at a public event with one woman standing and laughing, wearing a white shirt with a colorful logo, and another woman in a wheelchair wearing a multicolored wig and a ribbon, both enjoying the atmosphere among a large crowd secured by metal barriers.
© Colours of Ostrava
Hearing impairment
Visual impairment
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Via a help line, people with disabilities can get information and pre-order services. The assistant service, for example, is well-received, Pavla states. “There are some who would not come to the festival if they did not have our assistants. It would just be overwhelming for them.” There are about 25 assistants, most of them volunteers, who are trained to give assistance to people with various kinds of disabilities. 

An outdoor gathering under large white tents with people sitting at tables; one person in a wheelchair is visible. A house and trees are in the background under a cloudy sky.
© Colours of Ostrava

Katka (38), who uses the assistant service regularly, says: “I am a loyal fan of the Colours festival, which I have been attending for almost ten years. Without the support and services I have here, it would not be possible for me at all. The fact that BB TAXI picks me up and takes me home with my heavy electric wheelchair is just fantastic.” Jana (45) also has nothing but kind words for the assistants: “Colours is one of the few events where I don’t hesitate to go alone as a blind person. With the help of an assistant, I always manage it calmly and on top of that, I also get pleasant company.”

Approaches for people on the autistic spectrum

The idea to adapt the festival for people on the autism spectrum came from the local community, Pavla tells us. A local organisation taking care of people with ASD helped adapt the festival environment. On top of the childcare for autistic children, visitors can try out games and tools to get a glimpse into the world of people with ASD in an educational zone in the kids festival park.

How to get inspired

According to Pavla, inclusion is slowly becoming more important in the Czech Republic. “I feel that Eastern Europe can be slightly behind when dealing with inclusion. That’s why we try to be a role model for others. We often travel to Western European festivals to get inspired and learn their best practices. With ‘Colours without Barriers’ I think we took it even a few steps further, and thanks to the continued work and consulting with our local communities of people with disadvantages, we managed to create something that proved very useful.”

In 2024, Colours of Ostrava will introduce activities in cooperation with the local fitness centre Colliery, which, according to Pavla is, the only brand in the country offering services to people with impairments at their gyms. They will bring a fitness program adapted to people with physical and mental impairments to the festival – and the opportunity for everyone to try out a handbike, a hand-powered bicycle for both people with and without disabilities.

Watch the ‘Colours without Barriers’ aftermovies: 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018