Deaf and disabled live attendance up 70% in UK

The number of deaf and disabled fans attending live music events in the UK jumped 70% last year, according to the Attitude Is Everything charity.

By collating ticketing sales from the 100 festivals and venues signed to its Charter of Best Practice, the organisation found that almost 114,000 disabled tickets were sold in 2014, compared to 67,000 in 2013. This rise was equivalent to an estimated £5.4 million (A$10.56 million) in ticket sales.

The Charter of Best Practice allows festivals and venues to provide more facilities and accessibility for the disabled than they are legally obliged. Among those who’ve signed are the Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds festivals, and London’s The 02.

Attitude is Everything founder, Suzanne Bull MBE pointed out that the rise in ticket sales shows how the music industry can benefit by being forward thinking and supplying the demand for increased access.

Bull said, “It sends out a strong message to the wider music and entertainment industry: there are potentially millions of disabled customers wanting to attend your events and, if you improve access, then they will come. It doesn't have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be difficult. As impressive as these numbers are, they only represent the tip of the iceberg.”

Closer to home, a 2009 report by Arts Queensland showed 4 million Australians (18.5% of the population, or almost one in five) have a disability. In 2006, they showed lower attendance at cultural and leisure venues. That year, only 20.5% attended an art gallery, compared to 30% of the general population. There were similar experiences at museums (22.5% vs. 29.2%), theatre (14.4% vs. 24.8%) dance (10.8% vs. 17.9%), musicals (17.9% vs. 25.1%) and libraries (40.4% vs. 48.0%). There was no data for music concerts.

But another study (Cultural Ministers Council Statistics Working Group, 2007) showed that in 2006, 25.8% of people with a disability attended pop concerts, compared to 21.1% in 2002.

Last December, City of Sydney approved $20,000 for the trial of a Gig Buddies program pairing people with and without disability. As many carers clock off by 9pm, the gig buddy would accompany a music fan to a late night venue or stay for the entirety of a festival. It was the proposal of ACL Disability Services, based on a UK scheme by a charity called Stay Up Late.

A report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the Many Voices Making Choices study in 2005 pin-pointed barriers to attendance to cultural events. Physical access barriers were identified not only as the basic problem of not being able to enter or move through a building, but also included not being able to enter and enjoy the museum independently.

Other barriers are the cost of attending events (if an extra ticket is needed to be bought for a carer or if a specific transport is required), issues with transport (difficulty with public transport use, no designated parking), venues with limited or no wheelchair access, lack of sign language interpreters at performances and talks and no large print signs and labels.