Disability Accessibility at Concerts & Elsewhere

ChelseyBlair

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For those who are disabled or disability-adjacent, i would very much like to hear about your experiences with accessibility at concert venues. The good, the bad, and the ugly. (I plan to explore the entire spectrum in my current manuscript.)

some prompts to consider: what are the best accommodations you've encountered? what about the biggest obstacles? Is there an accommodation that doesn't exist but should? If you could create an accessible venue, what would it look like?
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I'm not normally disabled. However, I was dealing with a yet undiagnosed broken toe when I attended a couple of plays in a theater in which all the bathrooms were down a long flight of stairs.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

L M Ashton

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Plus... Where? Accessibility varies wildly depending on what part of the world you're in.

I'm mobility impaired, so I do notice these things. Wheelchair ramps (which are easier for me than stairs) in the UAE, for example, are so steep as to be impossible for a wheelchair user to actually use. And some buildings will label themselves as disabled accessible even though there are 1-5 steps to get into the building. Because, really, those 1-5 steps don't matter. /sarcasm And yes, bathrooms that are accessible only via stairs are a thing. And they suck. It's common to have to go up 5 or 10 stairs to enter most buildings.

In other countries, like Sri Lanka, for example, there is no recognition at all that disabilities require special provisions. Wheelchair ramps don't exist much at all, and when they do, well, you still have to get over the curb to get to the ramp. Not a whole lot of thought goes into wheelchair accessibility. One department store nearby has an elevator, but you have to get someone to unlock it to use it to go up. Going down it's simply not available, so you must use stairs. Lots of bulidings don't have elevators at all, so if you're mobility impaired, you just won't reach those offices or shops. Like the immigration office - you have to go up a tall set of stairs to reach the area where you go down a small set of stairs to reach the elevator to go up to the higher floors. There's just no thought for disabled people at all.
 
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Maryn

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In my experience (able bodied), the age of the building has a huge impact. In London, NYC, and my city, the "grand old theatres" built during or before the 1920s are minimally accessible to wheelchairs, although at least some of them have a single cramped restroom on the same floor as the lobby. It's common for restrooms to be in the basement, and for there to be no elevator to balcony seating. Also, some buildings protected by historical preservation status are exempt from having to add ramps, even in back by the dumpsters.

In contrast, indoor arenas which serve both as concert venues and sporting events tend to have been built in the 1960s or later and they do take accessibility factors into account in the basic design--although when they're renovated or replaced, accessibility is improved and increased.

Maryn, who went to a concert and several plays in the last week
 

ChelseyBlair

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fwiw, I'm also disabled--visually and physically--so I know the ropes and have dealt plenty of variations in accessibility. however, my novel features a band whose members have a variety of disabilities (blindness, CP, down syndrome, LDs/ADHD) and their audience will be similarly diverse. I know there all kinds of issues/perspectives, and ways of circumventing regulations, but I'm sure I haven't encountered all of them, so I'm looking for as many different experiences as possible.

that said, it is a US tour, so assume that the ADA guidelines as a baseline, but we all know some places meet the requirements better than others. šŸ˜•
 

GeorgeK

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Like Maryn said, the age of the building is the main thing. Sometimes in amphitheaters it means taking your wheelchair to the top tier. Sometimes it means the bottom. Most modern venues aren't an issue other than limiting where you have to go or where you have to sit. There are also a lot of rude people who think it's just fine for them to shove your chair.