Festival season is well and truly here in the UK and will carry on well in September. Music festivals are a huge amount of fun, but can be daunting if you’re attending as a wheelchair user for the first time and don’t know what to expect. However, with a little bit of planning there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have an absolute blast. Here are five tips on making sure you have a brilliant festivals experience.
Get a free carer ticket
Most major festivals, and lots of the smaller ones as well, offer disabled festival goers a free ticket for someone to attend the festival with them. This means that you can have someone on hand to help out if necessary, for example by helping you to navigate ramps or get across uneven ground. You can either split the cost of the other ticket, meaning you both get into the festival cheaper, or enjoy the feeling of being an incredibly generous person who gives their friend a completely free ticket.
Ask about disabled parking
The festival should have a disabled car park, which will be located close to both the festival site and the disabled campsite. If you have a blue badge you probably won’t have to pay a parking fee, but make sure you check with the festival organisers just in case.
Get a good spot in the disabled campsite
The disabled campsite should be adapted to be as accessible as possible for wheelchair users, and many feature special tracks and modular ramps to assist in getting across grassy or muddy areas. The campsite will have disabled toilets, which you may like to camp close to for convenience (though you may regret your choice by the time the festival ends!), and some festivals, such as Glastonbury, have 24-hour stewards in attendance should you need any assistance.
Locate the disabled viewing platforms
All of the larger music festivals have viewing platforms for disabled people, which offer an excellent view of the stage away from the stress of large crowds. Locating these before you want to use them and arriving early for the bands you want to see will ensure you get the prime viewing spaces. Some festivals run viewing platforms on a first come first served basis, so make sure you don’t miss out.
Find out where the medical tent is
Hopefully you won’t need to use it, but if you have additional medical needs then it’s a good idea to know where you can get help if necessary. However, there will be plenty of stewards around who are first aid trained who can help with any problems you may encounter or arrange to get you to the medical tent if you’re unable to locate it.