Organising a festival? Don't forget digital accessibility

It is the heart of summer and almost every weekend there is a festival somewhere in the Netherlands. From small, one-day, local festivals to huge festivals that last a whole weekend. There is something for everyone. Festivals therefore attract all kinds of different visitors. Many people with disabilities like to go to festivals, but the festival must be accessible. You have to take this into account when organising a festival.

Everyone can enjoy music. Even people with disabilities often like to visit festivals, especially if their friends go too. This requires some facilities, otherwise what should have been a nice day can end in a big disappointment. When we think of a festival, we quickly think of the big festivals like PinkPop or Lowlands, but of course this also applies when you want to organise other outdoor activities like a fair or a local party and a smaller festival. After reading this article, you too can get started organising a (digitally) accessible festival!

Digital accessibility for festivals

Besides being nice to give everyone a chance to attend a festival, it is also important to follow the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This convention was signed into law by the Dutch government in 2016. Fortunately, more and more festival organisations are already taking this into account and working to make the accessibility of their event better while organising the festival.

This is not just about accessibility for wheelchair users or blind visitors at the festival itself, for example. Just before the festival starts, digital accessibility is also very important. Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams were even sued a few years ago, because their websites were not properly accessible for blind visitors. This may be a little less likely to happen in the Netherlands, but businesses, too, should therefore also be legally increasingly concerned with digital accessibility.

Festival organising: steps to accessibility

It can be difficult to know what all you need to consider when organising a festival. Every festival is also different, so unfortunately we cannot give you a precise checklist or roadmap. But we would like to give you some pointers in this article, so you know how to get started.

Organising a festival or similar event is obviously not done in a day. A festival production process can easily take a year. Therefore, these tips can help you with the events you are planning now. Glad you want to get started on making your festival accessible to everyone!

Prior communication

It is often important for visitors with disabilities to have enough information in advance about the accessibility of a festival. This way, they can determine whether it is feasible for them to attend the festival. Therefore, good communication prior to the festival is very important. Here are aspects to look out for:

Digitally accessible website

Of course, it is important that your website is digitally accessible! Many festival websites have very busy websites. Sometimes they have all kinds of animations or videos on them, for example. Super nice to give a mood picture, but for some visitors this is very unpleasant. Moving images can be very distracting or overstimulate them. It is therefore useful to offer a low-stimulation alternative without movement.

Also make sure that information necessary for people with disabilities can be found in a quick way. This is most convenient on a separate page called "Accessibility". This page should then be easily findable.

In other aspects, it is also important to pay attention to accessibility. For example, is the programme accessible? And can, for example, a blind visitor order tickets independently?

Full information

When informing about the different aspects of accessibility at your festival, it is important to take into account different disabilities and the diversity of people with these disabilities. Not everyone in a given group needs the same facilities.

For example, provide information about accessibility for wheelchair users, but also how the facilities are for hearing-impaired or blind visitors, for example. Consider, for example, information about wheelchair toilets and whether there are paved paths, but also, for example, whether there are bar interpreters at certain parts of the programme and what facilities there are for blind visitors.

Contact

If people are missing certain information on your website, it is helpful if they can contact a designated contact person. This way, everyone can get clarity. For example, put a phone number and e-mail address somewhere clearly on the website. Also make sure that this contact information can always be found in the same place. The latter becomes a requirement when WCAG 2.2 is in place.

Of course, it helps if you already put as much information as possible on your website in advance. That way, fewer people need to contact you.

Marketing

The way a company communicates also shows what kind of audiences it targets. Therefore, think about who you showcase in your communication and marketing. Just make sure you remain authentic as an organisation. If you do post pictures of wheelchair users on your social media, but your event is not actually wheelchair-accessible at all, then you are giving the wrong information and using this group to appear better. So make sure your communication is not just outwardly inclusive, but that you actually take steps towards inclusion in all aspects of your event.

Digital accessibility during the festival

At the event itself, it is of course especially important to think about all aspects of physical accessibility. Nevertheless, digital accessibility still plays a role even during a festival.

Digital informatie

Often, information at a festival is provided digitally. Perhaps screens are used to show videos. Do these then have subtitles, and is this information correctly perceptible even if someone cannot see?

Perhaps you use an app to leave information, where visitors can view the programme, for example. How accessible is your app actually for people with disabilities? Again, think about different target groups and aspects of accessibility. And is accessibility information also available in the app?

Digital facilities

Of course, digital facilities can also, on the contrary, offer solutions. A screen can be used to deploy a sign language interpreter, for example. Or information kiosks can be set up where information can be read aloud to blind visitors. If you have an accessible app, this can also be a good way to make information available to many different visitors. That way, everyone always has all the information at hand and information can also be easily updated.

Informed employees

We wrote earlier that it is a good idea to appoint a contact person and also put this person's details on the website. Make sure this person can also be reached during the festival, so that someone can get in touch in case of problems. Also make sure that all staff have at least basic knowledge about accessibility and available facilities, so that everyone can answer visitors' questions.

Getting started with digital accessibility at your festival!

The aforementioned tips are mainly a starting point when organising the festival. There are all sorts of aspects to consider, but it is totally worth it! How nice it is when everyone can find their way to your festival and have a great day there too.

Really don't know where to start yet? Then we can help you get started with digital accessibility.

I want to become digitally accessible!