Guide: ‘Access Starts Online’ by Attitude is Everything
- Published in: 2016
- Keywords: Accessibility, web accessibility, online access information, preparing for the festival visit, booking tickets
Access Starts Online is a digital campaign which provides festivals and venues with respective guides to creating clear access information on their websites. The access information template and guides are easy to use to structure and create online accessibility information for individual festivals and venues.
It was created by Attitude is Everything and launched together with the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) in the UK. Attitude is Everything is an Arts Council-funded charity, working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to improve accessibility for people who are deaf or have disabilities. AIF is the UK’s leading non-profit festival trade association for independent festivals.
Access Starts Online was set up in 2016 to support a joint aspiration to see all AIF member festivals offering comprehensive and clear access information for potential deaf and disabled customers. The Access Starts Online guide recommends festivals to provide detailed access information online and to introduce a travel guide for people with disabilities because barriers to access can be found long before the festival gates. The guide is accompanied by a Word template with 13 sections on different kinds of access information that festivals can easily download, fill in and offer on their website. With the support of the British Council, the resources have been translated into 16 languages.
Access Starts Online responded to research for the “State of Access Report” that found that 52% of the venues and festivals surveyed in the UK provided poor access information or none at all. According to Attitude is Everything, one in five people in the UK have a disability, and the World Health Organization estimates that 135 million Europeans have a disability. Studies by the UK government show that people with disabilities make up 15% of live music audiences, but that recent engagement in the arts by those with a disability is “significantly lower” than by those without. Attitude is Everything criticizes that the music sector is still excluding audiences and failing its potential to reach people.
In the fourth and most recent “State of Access Report 2018”, Attitude is Everything examined the barriers faced by people who are deaf or have disabilities when trying to book tickets for live music events, and set out a vision for ticketing without barriers. The survey found that, despite progress being made, a range of barriers still existed: 82% of the respondents had experienced problems while booking access, 79% had been put off buying tickets due to these problems, and 73% had felt discriminated against when trying to book access.
For inspiration on access information, take a look at this Access Scheme by Leeds Festival (Festival Republic), which shows all the festival’s access information in one place.