Disabled people ‘missing out on big gigs’ as campaigner urges venues to do more
31 August 2024, 07:37 | Updated: 31 August 2024, 07:39
A disability rights activist has told LBC that “disabled people are missing out on big gigs due to the incompetence of venues”.
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As people scramble to get their hands on Oasis tickets today, Holly April, also known online as ‘Stoma Babe’, is calling on venues to do more to cater to the needs of ALL disabled people.
“There’s an attitude from some, that disabled people shouldn’t be entitled to joy, that they should stay at home. And because of that attitude, it just continues to perpetuate that message and therefore some people do get defeated and think to themselves… I’m not even going to deal with the stress of all this. I’m not going to go! I’m not going to spend all that money to have an unenjoyable day. Which is completely understandable.
“After my experience last time… I think to myself do I want to put myself through that again? Do I want to spend that amount of money to come home and cry? No not really!”
Holly, who has lived with a stoma bag since 2021 after being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, says she had a bad experience recently when going to a big event. She says the accessible ticket phoneline wasn’t being answered so she had to book a standard standing ticket, because that’s all that was on offer:
“Some people say ‘Why didn’t you get the seated ticket?”
“I would have loved to, but I wasn’t given that option… I don’t feel like I should miss out because of my disability.
“Yes, it is difficult to get a ticket for everybody, but they have multiple different options to do so. When you have a disability, you are so limited that all the odds are stacked up against you.”
Campaign group Attitude is Everything, who work to connect disabled people with music and live event industries to improve access, say that accessible ticket phonelines have disappeared following the height of the pandemic and that sometimes, those phonelines are extremely busy due to demand for certain events.
Their most recent State of Access Report, supported by Arts Council England and PRS for Music and UK Music, found in 2018 that 82% of respondents had experienced problems booking access, while 79% had been put off buying gig tickets due to problems booking access.
Holly tells us that it’s now got to the point where "disabled people have had to get used to the idea that these types of events just aren’t for them".
She says: “It’s not just physical disabilities that exist and it’s important that those people feel included!
“Having a disabled toilet on its own or a helpline is simply not enough and I think that a lot of venues and organisers will think that they are accessible and inclusive because they’ve actually not experienced attending as someone with a disability.
“I feel that if you are allowing disabled customers to come to your venues, then you need to realise that they have needs and requirements”.
‘Attitude Is Everything’ encourage those who have experienced ticketing issues to contact them via their Report an Issue Form, available under the Audiences section of their website.
