Northern Ireland Trailblazers Inclusion Now campaign.

www.muscular-dystrophy.org 13
Going to concerts
I live, eat and sleep music. Matt Cardle has released his tour dates and he is playing
at the Empire Music Hall – a completely inaccessible venue for anyone with any
type of mobility difficulty. This is the third or fourth time an artist I like has played
at the venue. It’s extremely frustrating and disappointing that I’m continually
meeting this barrier.
“I often feel disadvantaged when it comes to going out. It is virtually impossible to
get more than one seat with a disabled ticket at concerts. That means if I’m taking
my niece, or going with my friends, I can’t go with more than one person. This
makes it much harder to have a great night out as a group, as it’s usually just me
plus one other.
“Music venues have significantly improved in recent years. The Odyssey Arena has
now begun to seat wheelchair users in the first and third row on the ground floor.
However, they continue to discriminate by not allowing wheelchair users on the
ground floor in a designated area during standing concerts and only allowing a
restricted number on the ground floor during seated concerts. I want them to work
with Trailblazers to improve the situation and help to set a benchmark in standards
of inclusion for the rest of the world.
Like most students, I love
to party! My friends and
I love Ollies nightclub in
the centre of Belfast. The
bouncers are fantastic at
helping me through the
crowds to move to where
I want to go throughout
the night. Overall I feel
that accessibility is really
good and it is gradually
improving over time.
Many venues allow you
take a carer free of charge,
however this is rarely
made clear when booking
so asking is always best!
Suzanne Glover
“As an individual who loves music and theatre, concert halls are my main leisure
location. The Grand Opera House has been incredible in setting the standards.
I cannot commend them highly enough. Two things, however, would perfect
their service: if they had a system in place so that I could be sat with my entire
party, and if the venue included a Changing Places toilet.
Common
concerns
n Lack of access into some
restaurants, theatres
and shops.
n Lack of disabled toilets
with hoists.
n Paying more to visit places
with carers.
n Lack of choice for seating
when visiting concert
halls, sports stadiums and
music venues.
Actions needed
n Improved promotion and use of ‘Part R’ of building regulations 13 and disability discrimination
legislation 14 to ensure that new buildings have level access to shops and restaurants.
n Tougher blue badge enforcement.
n Changing Places toilets in shopping centres, at music venues and tourist attractions.
n Promotion of carer concessions.
n Improved disability awareness training for all employees that communicate with
disabled customers at any stage of the booking process.
n Choice for disabled seating in theatres and stadiums.
n Accessibility to be considered in both home and away stands at sports stadiums.
n Working together with organisations like Trailblazers and consulting with disabled
people directly when making decisions that will have an impact on them.
Colin Klotzbach/istock
13
Department for Finance and Personnel, Building regulations R ‘Access to and use of buildings’,
www.dfpni.gov.uk/tbr_online_version.pdf
14
Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Disability Discrimination (NI) order 2006 (DDO)