READING Festival has been ranked fifth in a new study examining the levels of support offered to attendees with accessibility needs.
Health and Safety experts at Protecting.co.uk have conducted research into which of the UK’s major festivals provide the best accessibility information, support, application processes, and replacement services.
Green Man ranked first in the list, followed closely by TRNSMT and Boomtown in second and third respectively.
Victorious placed fourth, with Reading and its sister festival, Leeds, placing fifth– ahead of Lattitude, Creamfields, Bloodstock, and the Isle of Wight Festival.
It earned the ranking as Reading and Leeds provided clear application instructions and said customers should receive a response within five working days.
It also scored for its raised platforms, ground viewing areas, and accessible campsites
Even though current booking for these services is full, given that the festival is this weekend, their accessibility page states that new applicants for those facilities are being placed on waiting lists.
To decide the ranking, information available to customers was checked for accessible tickets, evidence, application forms, response times, deadlines, companion tickets, temporary impairments, refunds and accessibility contacts.
Published capacity information was recorded for raised viewing platforms, ground-level viewing areas and accessible campsites.
Higher ranking was indicative of a clearer process, fewer administrative barriers, and stronger protection when facilities are unavailable.
Chris Hall, Health & Safety expert at Protecting.co.uk, said: “Accessible viewing areas and campsites will always have limits, particularly at greenfield festivals.
“Customers should know what those limits are, however, before committing hundreds of pounds to tickets, travel and accommodation.
“It’s not the biggest concern when festivals reach capacity, given that they are hugely popular events, this is expected.
“Another concern is that most festivals require customers to buy a ticket before completing the accessibility process, yet only one clearly offered a refund when no suitable alternative facility was available.”
He explained: “Even when a customer follows every step correctly, an essential viewing area or campsite may still be unavailable, leaving them out of pocket for something that is out of their control.
“What would be better is for festivals to include capacity updates, realistic deadlines and clear refund terms on their accessibility pages, as this would help disabled festivalgoers decide whether they could attend safely.
“Festivals should also ask whether three separate application stages are completely necessary. A free Digital Access Pass removes a direct charge to the customer, but customers must still provide evidence to one organisation before repeating parts of the process with the festival.”
More information is available via: Protecting.co.uk
