Accessible venues

Attending theatre shows, concerts, comedy nights, and festivals should be something that everyone can do, when they want, with confidence. 

Sadly, this is not the experience for all blind and partially sighted people. Our policy group, made up of people with lived experience highlighted some of the key challenges they have experienced.

Collectively, we began to meet with venues across Scotland to hear about the wonderful work already in place to support customers with visual impairment and shared small changes that venues can make to make a big difference

This report has been co-produced and highlights best practices and makes recommendations to make events spaces more accessible to best meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people. 

From the booking process, to finding the correct seat, or making the way home after, there are lots of ways venue can make their customer journeys more accessible.

Find out more by downloading a copy of our screen-reader-friendly report or watch our short animation further down this page.

We’re campaigning for sector wide changes:

A standardised booking system for accessible seats at venues in Scotland.

A designated accessible phone line and/or website and/or app that allows people with disabilities to book seats at venues across Scotland.

Mandatory accessibility standards and requirements that venues in Scotland must meet.

This includes design features such as colour contrast, tactile markings and clear signage in large print.

Making audio description and touch tours a standard practice for all performances.

Ask touring companies to contribute towards the costs of running audio-described shows.

Visual impairment awareness and sighted guide training for all staff members who work in venues in Scotland.

Lived experience forums of people with visual impairment are key as part of this training.