Olivia PowellTicketmaster has launched a new scheme to give disabled fans better access to events.
Ticketmaster designed the system in collaboration with UK charity Attitude Is Everything, who recently introduced the Ticketing Without Barriers Coalition.
Attitude Is Everything launched the coalition after finding that 82% of deaf and disabled music fans found it difficult to attend live music events, and that 83% of them had found inaccessible booking systems discouraging when purchasing tickets.
Fans will now be able to submit details of their disability online, which is then validates and bound to their profile, allowing them to book all tickets for future gigs with this disability in mind.
This means that in participating venues, their accessible areas will be clearly marked on the seat map, whether it be in a wheelchair-friendly zone or in range of a hearing loop, and will come with a free companion ticket.
Managing director of Ticketmaster, Andrew Parsons, said to the BBC: “It’s something we’ve been seeking to address for some time now. Fundamentally, all fans deserve equal access to live entertainment.
“The plus side of this system is that, in the future, the fans won’t have to do anything. They will be able to buy their tickets like anyone else.”
The booking system was soft-launched in Glasgow’s SEC and Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena earlier in October.
Parsons said of this launch: “The feedback’s been really, really positive. We’re very keen to roll it out to a host of new venues now; and I’m challenging all of our teams on that.”
Parsons also said that arenas in Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle would gain the new accessible options by the end of 2019, with the aim for more venues, including those internationally, to follow in 2020.