BST Hyde Park receives AIE gold status
AEG Presents’ British Summer Time (BST) Hyde Park has been awarded gold status for Attitude is Everything’s charter of best practice, recognising the event’s commitment to inclusivity for deaf and disabled people.
Since 2013, AEG Presents has partnered with Attitude is Everything, a charity working to improve access to live music for deaf and disabled people. The charter of best practice exceeds the legal obligations set out in the equality act, presenting measures to achieve a truly equal service for disabled customers.
In 2017, the UK Live Music Group officially recognised the charter as an industry standard.
“We’ve been working with AEG and BST Hyde Park for over five years and have been impressed by how the festival have developed their access over this time,” says Paul Hawkins, Attitude is Everything’s festivals and volunteering manager.
“Accessibility works best when it something that all staff members engage in, from a senior level to frontline staff, and this is certainly the case with Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park.
“AEG have been a fantastic company to work with and we are confident that, even with the gold award, they will continue to raise the bar for access to ensure all customers have the best experience possible at the shows,” adds Hawkins.
“Accessibility works best when it something that all staff members engage in, from a senior level to frontline staff, and this is certainly the case with BST Hyde Park”
The news comes following the event’s double win at the charity’s Outstanding Attitude Awards in March, picking up awards in the ‘customer service’ and ‘ticketing without barriers – venue/event’ categories. The event also received commendation for updates to its disabled-access provision.
Initiatives at BST Hyde Park include three accessible viewing areas over two stages and roaming drinks vendors at the Great Oak stage and Barclaycard stage. A friend or family member can gain access to the areas with an interchangeable, free personal assistant pass.
British sign language (BSL) interpreters cover every act on the Great Oak stage and accessible toilets are present at every toilet block. All pre-event information is available in audio and easy read versions and there is a dedicated access customer service team available all year via email and phone.
The introduction of guided tours will help those requiring additional assistance for navigating the site.
“Making sure our events are open to all is a top priority of ours, and we believe it truly sets us apart from our competitors,” comments AEG Presents’ senior event manager, Jenny Hamada. “Recognition from Attitude is Everything, who we’ve worked with for many years, is a heartening sign that these efforts are making a real difference.”
Headliners for this year’s BST Hyde Park include Celine Dion (5 July), Stevie Wonder (6 July), Barbra Streisand (7 July) and Florence and the Machine (13 July).
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Outstanding Attitude Awards 2019 winners crowned
AEG Presents celebrated a double win at today’s Outstanding Attitude Awards, the new Attitude is Everything event that celebrates excellence and innovation in accessibility for disabled live music audiences.
The promoter’s BST Hyde Park festival picked up awards in the ‘customer service’ and ‘ticketing without barriers – venue/event’ categories, and was commended for recent updates to the event’s disabled-access provision, which resulted in a 50% increase in accessible ticket sales between 2017 and 2018.
At the grassroots venues end of the spectrum, Manchester’s Band on the Wall received a ticketing without barriers award for the depth of access information provided on their website, which includes an audio listings service and an Access Guide made available in braille format.
Other winners at the awards, held today at Islington Assembly Hall in London, were Deer Shed Festival, the SSE Arena Belfast, the Ticket Factory’s Credability Access Card, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Made with Music Mini-Gigs, GigLoo and SoundSense.
The ten winners were selected by an independent panel of music fans, artists, journalists and other industry experts.
“What we’re really celebrating today is good customer service”
Suzanne Bull MBE, CEO of Attitude is Everything, comments: “What we’re really celebrating today is good customer service. Deaf and disabled people represent some of the UK’s most passionate music fans. Millions of us attend live music events, and millions more would like to. We are a significant part of the music community.
“Today’s winners represent some shining examples of how the live music business is responding to this demand. I would like to congratulate all of them, and all of our nominees, not only for the brilliant work that they’ve been doing but also for the inspiration they can offer to others. The Outstanding Attitude Awards is proof that everyone in live music, from the biggest festival to the smallest venue can step up and make a change.”
According to government data, one in ten live music attendees in the UK is deaf or disabled.
Digital and creative industries minister Margot James says: “There’s never been a better time to experience live music and it’s something that everyone should be able to enjoy. I want to see every venue and festival create brilliant facilities for deaf and disabled people, and it’s great to see the Outstanding Attitude Awards showcasing what can be achieved across the UK.”
A full list of award winners is available from the Attitude is Everything website.
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Outstanding Attitude Award nominees announced
Music accessibility charity Attitude is Everything has announced the shortlist for its upcoming Outstanding Attitude Awards, recognising live music venues, festivals and businesses that have improved accessibility for disabled and deaf fans.
Winners will be announced in an all-access awards ceremony at Islington Assembly Hall (890-cap.) on Tuesday 12 March. Nominees are up for awards across ten categories including tech innovation, customer service, accessible infrastructure and accessible ticketing.
This year, a DIY Access Award has been named in honour of the late Nigel McCune, one of Attitude is Everything’s first trustees and board officers.
Awards nominees include large outdoor events, arenas and brands such as ticketing giant Ticketmaster, British Summer Time Hyde Park, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff (5,000-cap.) and Download Festival (111,000-cap.), which received Attitude is Everything’s gold standard for best practice last year.
Independent festivals and venues are also among those nominated, including Deer Shed Festival (10,000-cap.), London’s Roundhouse (1,700-cap.), Manchester’s Band on the Wall (450-cap.) and Leeds-based Brudenell Social Club (400-cap.)
“The Outstanding Attitude Awards highlight how everyone has the capacity to tear down barriers and make music more inclusive”
Business and events specialists Vehicles for Change, GigLoo and The Ticket Factory are also up for awards.
“There can’t be many award shows that cover nominations from live music’s biggest and most-recognised global brands, alongside outdoor toilet specialists and tiny local venues,” says Attitude is Everything chief executive Suzanne Bull MBE, the UK government sector champion for the music industry.
“That’s what makes the Outstanding Attitude Awards so special. It highlights how everyone has the capacity to tear down barriers and make music more inclusive. The only limit is our imagination, and that’s what we’ll be celebrating,” adds Bull.
The Outstanding Attitude Awards are an important component of Attitude is Everything’s Breaking the Sound Barriers programme, which provides opportunities for disabled people in live music and improves access to grassroots venues.
The programme receives funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Arts Access and Participation fund. The awards ceremony is also supported by Arts Council England.
The full shortlist for the Outstanding Attitude Awards can be found below:
Access Starts Online Award – Outdoor event
British Summer Time Hyde Park
Deer Shed Festival
Festival Republic festivals
Greenbelt Festival
Access Starts Online Award – Venue over 500 capacity
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Southbank Centre
The SSE Arena Belfast
Access Starts Online Award – Venue under 500 capacity
Band on the Wall
Brudenell Social Club
Komedia Brighton
West End Centre Aldershot
Accessible Infrastructure Award
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society – Virgin Money Street Events
GigLoo Ltd
Vehicles for Change
Big Ambition Award
British Summer Time Hyde Park
Download Festival
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
The Nigel McCune DIY Access Award
Made with Music Mini-Gigs
Nozstock: The Hidden Valley Festival
The Boileroom
The Rock House
The Customer Service Award
Band on the Wall
British Summer Time Hyde Park
The SSE Arena, Belfast
Victorious Festival
The Tech Innovation Award
SoundSense
The Lowry
The Ticket Factory and Nimbus
Ticketing Without Barriers Award – Ticketing / Tech Company
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
Nimbus
Ticketmaster UK
Ticketing Without Barriers Award – Venue / Event
British Summer Time Hyde Park
Festival Republic festivals
Roundhouse
Victorious Festival
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Reading Festival awarded gold for accessibility
Reading Festival has been awarded gold status by Attitude is Everything, reflecting the UK event’s 12-year commitment to increasing accessibility for deaf and disabled people.
The Festival Republic-run event has worked with Attitude is Everything, which works to improve deaf/disabled people’s access to live music, since 2005, and has since then delivered a huge increase in deaf and disabled festivalgoers: +91% between 2014 and 2017 alone.
Reading reached silver status on the charity’s Charter of Best Practice in 2014, and in 2016 won an Outstanding Attitude Award for its sign-language interpretation service for deaf customers.
“I attended my first Reading Festival in 1987 for a day, when the headliners were the Mission, Status Quo and Alice Cooper,” says Attitude CEO Suzanne Bull MBE. |The highlight of my day was seeing John Peel’s delight at tucking in to a very lush jacket potato and baked beans – as well as seeing all the bands, of course. Back then, hardly any disabled fans attended music festivals and facilities were practically non-existent, which makes today’s award of great personal satisfaction.
“In an industry as diverse as music and festivals, we should be doing everything in our power to make our events as accessible as possible”
“The festival today could not be more welcoming or inclusive. Working in partnership with Attitude is Everything, Melvin Benn and the Festival Republic team have consistently developed the festival to become more accessible and inclusive as the years have gone by. As a result, attendances from deaf and disabled customers, along with their friends and families, have never been higher. The impact is far-reaching, and a perfect embodiment of how live music can change lives when barriers to access are removed.”
Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn adds: “In an industry as diverse as music and festivals, we should be doing everything in our power to make our events as accessible as possible for everyone. As we continue to develop our BSL [British sign language] interpretation service and progress all disabled access avenues across our events, it’s rewarding to see our disabled customer numbers continuing to grow.
“Having worked with Attitude is Everything since 2005, we look forward to continuing this relationship, and are delighted that Reading Festival has been awarded gold status on their Charter of Best Practice.”
In addition to accessibility, Reading/Festival Republic is spearheading a push for greater gender diversity in the live music industry with its new ReBalance initiative.
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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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