Tom HallSimeon Aldred, group creative director, Vibration Group
Accessibility at our venues has always been a massive challenge. Vibration Group and our venue brands Venue Lab and Broadwick Venues are famous for opening new places in found industrial environments that have complex architecture, not designed to be DDA compliant at all, never mind operating in the realms of best practice. These environments therefore come with some massive challenges for our guests with specific needs.
The only solution for us is to have a proactive team that manage all aspects of access at our culture venues. The basics are easy: ramps, low bars, accessible toilets and changing facilities, but can you give these guests the feeling of being in the midst of the crowd in a 5,000 capacity electronic show?
The answer is yes. Don’t remove them from the action on a viewing platform, give these guests options. ‘People not Production’ is the answer in my view. Have an access team that your guests can check in and out with across the night to ensure they have escorts to the places they want to go and when.
If they want to go anywhere other guests can go, make it happen. Employing a team that understands guest experience is a must.