Column: To Finally be Seen, Heard and Acknowledged, and Enjoy the Show

By Adam Humphreys
After battling for so long, the disabled community can finally enjoy the buzz and thrill of live music.
The disabled community can now enjoy the amazing experience of live music without all the hassle. Ticketmaster, which is one of the biggest ticket providers to live music event for nearly all events in the UK, has taken extra steps. The website requires people with disabilities to submit details of their disability to their profile only once.
In partnership with participating venues, here is how it works; you enter details of your disability, what your requirements will be, you can then book a ticket online to the gig of your choice. Based on your disability you are given details of the seating areas that are in the radius of the hearing loop or access which allows room for wheelchair users, along with a companion ticket. And like with any other ticket, all areas will be pointed out and easy to read.
For disabled people this is a huge advancement in the way that they can now enjoy live music. Even a few years ago things like this were not in place. Feedback from this new development has been largely positive, heralded as a complete game changer, as disabled people can have a pleasurable experience like anyone else. Others are hoping that more businesses will take heed from the idea devised and apply it to their own companies.
I also hope that this expands to both festivals and nightclubs as well. It is only fair that people of the disability community, whether they be hard of hearing, wheelchair users or partially sighted etc get the full chance to enjoy the musical experience as much as their able-bodied counterparts.
As we progress further into 2020, what both ticket provider companies and music venues are doing is proof of progress in regards to even the most basic of human rights. I mean, an able-bodied person can enjoy a rock concert but what good is it if there is no access for a wheelchair user?
This is definitely proof of progress but we need to ensure that the people involved in this progress keep it going so as to ensure that even disabled people can enjoy the pleasure of even a live concert. Now there are a couple of popular music venues where I have been to where this has yet to either implanted or fully implanted.
Speaking from my own experience, there was a venue I went to some years ago which did offer wheelchair access. There was a dup performing and one of them was disabled. When I saw the staff prepare a ramp, I felt proud that the staff went out of their way to provide such access.