Outstanding Attitude Awards winners named

Attitude is Everything today announced the winners of its inaugural Outstanding Attitude Awards, which recognise the venues and festivals that have created the most innovative solutions to improve accessibility for disabled and deaf music fans.

“Highlighting that no event is too small or too large to improve its accessibility,” the winners – all of which are signed up to the British charity’s Charter of Best Practice – range from “a 500-capacity venue in south London to one of the UK’s best-known outdoor music festivals. They are:

Venues

The Albany, London, for its video-based travel information: Shot via smartphone and hosted on the venue’s website, these short-form videos depict the real-time journey from the Albany’s three nearest railway stations for the benefit of all attendees, including people with mobility impairments

• Colston Hall, Bristol, for Fast Forward Festival, a pioneering conference and series of performances that put accessible music-making centre stage, and involved significant changes to the building and investment in staff training

• Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, for its British sign language (BSL) interpretation service for all new events: The venue has developed a new BSL service in partnership with audiences and Performance Interpreting, providing tailored BSL interpretation as part of its core programme and upon request

Festivals 

• Just So Festival, Cheshire, for its inclusive programme: Just So compiled its programme guidelines into eight specific categories such as ‘Sit Back and Relax’ and ‘Make Some Noise’, enabling audience members to make informed choices about activities best suited to their needs for each of the 200 events at the festival

• Nozstock: The Hidden Valley, Herefordshire, for its online access information and social story: Based on a working farm with challenging terrain, Nozstock has produced detailed online maps and access information resources, including photo guides, distances to key locations and a downloadable ‘social story’ for people with autism and learning disabilities
• Reading Festival for its user-led British sign language interpretation service: A consistently innovative event, organiser Festival Republic has made huge strides to engage with deaf audience members over several years, now working with SSE Audio and Creative Technology to transmit user-led BSL interpretation of performances to screens on both viewing platforms and the main stage

“The Outstanding Attitude Awards are proof that all live music events, regardless of size and resources, can think outside the box and become more inclusive to a wide spectrum of disabled audiences,” says Attitude is Everything CEO Suzanne Bull MBE.

“This year’s winners range from some simple but hugely impactful online resources to a groundbreaking music conference and several cutting-edge innovations for deaf fans. I would like to congratulate all the winners on their success, and I hope other venues and festivals can take inspiration from their achievements and can-do approach.”

2015 was a bumper year for the number of disabled and deaf fans attending concerts and festivals in the UK, rising 26% to 144,000.

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