11 minute read
ACCESS IS EVERYTHING
Access all areas
Michelle Young, accessibility co-ordinator at Birmingham 2022, explains why accessibility is paramount and how organisers can make their events more accessible and inclusive
Birmingham 2022’s accessibility department is comprised of a team of three. Yet, the small team has one of the biggest tasks ahead of it; to make Birmingham 2022 the most accessible Commonwealth Games in history. Michelle Young, accessibility coordinator at Birmingham 2022, works with Emma Clueit-Ord, head of access, and Chris Massam, access coordinator. Together, they advise every function and department within the Games’ organising committee on every aspect of access you can imagine.
For example, one day, Young might be training colleagues about autism awareness, and the next she could be advising on digital and large print menus for visually impaired and Blind customers. The breadth of work and consultancy required for such a large event is huge; but it’s necessary and one that Young is relishing. She is keen to make every person attending the Games feel included and that they have been thought about.
“We want this to be a Games for all,” she explained. In fact, the large-scale sporting event, which takes place from July 28 to August 8, is set to have the largest integrated Para sport programme in the history of the Games, with Para athletics and Para swimming events added for the first time.
Unlike the Olympics and Paralympics, which factor in a period of time for venues to be turned round and adapted for athletes and audiences with accessibility needs, Birmingham 2022 has considered a myriad of needs now so that everyone attending the event – athletes, employees, volunteers, officials, spectators, and media – can have a safe, exciting, and dignified experience.
For example, Young, Clueit-Ord, and Massam have worked with CSM Live on wayfinding by assessing pictograms and symbols used on signage for food and drink outlets and toilets. Website accessibility and accessible documentation has been a big focus too, as has advice on viewing platforms and distances between seats and toilets, for instance. There will be British Sign Language interpretation at key ceremonies, and disabled people can apply for a ticket for a companion without having to send in proof.
GET ACCESSIBILITY RIGHT
According to Purple, an organisation dedicated to reducing levels of inequality between disabled and non-disabled people, in the UK alone, the consumer spending power of 13.8 million disabled people and their families – the Purple Pound – equates to £249 billion a year. Therefore, the disability market is too big and important to be ignored.
Young explained that Birmingham 2022 is the first Commonwealth Games to have a dedicated access function. It acts as a consultant to the organisation and ensures that details within the event’s Accessibility and Inclusion Commitment [The BIG Standard] are being met.
Training is vital and it is a large part of Young’s job. In fact, we meet not long after she has delivered a “ways of working” training session to Games’ employees on different types of visual impairments and accessibility considerations, such as preparing people for the realities of working with guide dogs and how to guide a visually impaired or Blind person. Young uses aids to demonstrate the different conditions experienced by people living with a visual impairment so that others can appreciate how much more stressful dayto-day tasks, such as travelling, can be.
“A lot of my job is about being approachable and knowledgeable,” Young continued. “Everyone wants to get accessibility right; they just need to be nudged along.”
PUT ACCESS AT THE FOREFRONT
Birmingham 2022 currently holds Bronze in the Deaf-friendly Standard, it has put in evidence of its work to be gain Silver certification and hopes to achieve the Gold standard before the Games begin. It is proof of all the hard work that is being done behind the scenes to ensure equality and inclusion.
“I am a big attender of concerts, but people always think about wheelchairs and not about providing digital menus and large print menus,” Young added.
Young is registered blind and uses a guide dog, Hugo the German Shepherd. She uses her lived experiences to educate and train people within Birmingham 2022 about how to make the Games experience better for people living with additional access needs.
Prior to joining the access team, Young was a volunteer recruitment and selection coordinator for Birmingham 2022; a role she enjoyed immensely. She also has experience of volunteering at Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She said: “I came on board with the Commonwealth Games in May 2021. I had worked in volunteer recruitment but as the Games moves from planning to delivery, everyone moves roles. I wanted to pick mine; I had lived experiences and having worked in accessibility; I went for it.”
Young aims to give everyone that she meets some basic knowledge of how you should behave around a guide dog and how you should guide someone who is Blind or has a visual impairment. Access and laws surrounding guide dogs continue to be misunderstood.
“With the arrival of the Equality Act, organisers and businesses were made more aware of their legal obligations, but there is still a lack of knowledge and resistance to put access at the forefront.
“The scope of my role encompasses so much. It’s the most challenging job I have ever done. One month within the Games is like three months in any other job; everything is new and there’s one big immovable deadline.”
But when it comes to live events and access, what advice does Young have for other organisers?
“Prioritise access, the way you would any other mandatory requirement such as RIDDOR or building regs, and train your staff,” she concluded.
THE BATON IN MALAYSIA
Carrying the Baton
Lisa Hampton is head of The Queen’s Baton Relay at the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee. Here, she talks of tour challenges, COVID, sustainability, and the importance of networking
How long have you been working in events and what/who inspired you to join the industry?
I have been working in events for around (eek) 18 years. I studied sports management at university and particularly enjoyed the event management modules. At the same time, I worked at a theme park and loved the buzz and challenge of delivering an experience for thousands of people each day. Events was really the perfect fit for me, and I never looked back! I was working in events in London in 2005 and went to Trafalgar Square to hear the results of the London bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. When we won, the atmosphere was electric, and I remember making a promise to myself then that I would get a role on the London 2012 Organising Committee. That was the start of my career in moving events and relays and I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given over the years.
What previous event experience has stood you in good stead for your role as head of The Queen’s Baton Relay?
Over the past ten years, I have worked across several similar projects, from delivering the Paralympic Torch Relay in 2012 to the Rugby World Cup 2019 International Trophy Tour, all of which have key skills and components that have stood me in good stead to do this role, such as creative thinking, stakeholder engagement, international logistics and operations as well as communications and media management. Head of The Queen’s Baton Relay is a broad role and allows me to use all the skills I have acquired over the years (as well as a number I didn’t know I had!) All of these programmes are crucial for generating excitement and interest in the forthcoming sporting event and are also incredible ways to bring worldclass sports and athletes to grass roots communities.
LISA HAMPTON
We decided early on that we would try to use the pandemic as an opportunity to look at the traditional delivery model and find new ways of working that we wouldn’t otherwise have considered
Tell me a little bit more about your current role – what are the challenges of organising such a huge tour?
Organising and delivering a global relay is a large undertaking. The Queen’s Baton Relay is currently travelling to all 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth on its 294-day journey, and we have a brilliant team that are managing all elements of the delivery, from logistics, operations, and security through to marketing, communications, and social media management. We are very fortunate to be able to work with incredible Commonwealth Games Associations in each country, who do a fantastic job of organising amazing programmes of activity in their nation to celebrate the baton when it arrives. We have seen almost every activity you can think of – skydiving, horse riding, diving with sharks; trips on all kinds of modes of transport, as well as being joined by various animals from across the globe.
UGANDA
Finally, we have welcomed thousands of Batonbearers to carry the baton as part of the journey; with each of these Batonbearers being people making a difference and taking on challenges in their communities. It has been one of the most colourful programmes I have ever worked on and finding out about different cultures and celebrating sport and communities all over the world has been an incredible experience.
How has sustainability been factored into planning/delivery for the Baton Relay?
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be the most sustainable Commonwealth Games yet and sustainable principles have been embedded into the planning for the relay. For example, this relay route has been designed to be the shortest route in recent times and we are using sustainable methods of transport wherever possible. Championing sustainability is a key theme of the Queen’s Baton Relay and during the delivery so far, each nation has showcased a project that supports one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. There has been tree planting in several nations, coral planting in Fiji, beach clean ups and visits to sustainable power generation projects, such as hydro plants.
What impact has COVID had on the relay?
As everyone in the event industry knows, COVID has been a real challenge for all of us and the Queen’s Baton Relay has been no exception. Delivering a global journey doing a global pandemic has been no mean feat, but we decided early on that we were going to do everything we could to make the Queen’s Baton Relay a success and that we would try to use the pandemic as an opportunity to look at the traditional delivery model and find new ways of working that we wouldn’t otherwise have considered. This is, for example, the first time ever the Baton has travelled without a support team, with the Commonwealth Games Associations being responsible for the baton in their home nations instead. We wouldn’t have set out to do this in a nonpandemic environment, but it has been working well and is something we will review again for future relays.
What’s been your favourite moment of the Baton Relay so far and is there anything you are looking forward to the most?
This is such a hard question – I think there are too many to have a favourite moment! I have loved the diversity of the programme and how each nation and territory has injected their personality into their celebrations along the way. From the Namibian sand dunes in Africa, to the temples of India in Asia, from the Sydney Opera House in Australia to the rainforests and beaches of the Americas and the Caribbean, it truly has been a global endeavour, with each nation and territory playing their part in the delivery of an epic journey. I think what will stay with me the most though, is the true sense of excitement and pride from every single Batonbearer and every single Commonwealth nation and territory to be part of the Queen’s Baton Relay.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Network, network, network, and then network some more! It is still not one of my strongest skills and I suspect it never will be – I am still terrible at it now, but people are your biggest asset in this industry. Whether it is having access to great people when you need them to support on a project or whether you need to find a person in common when you are going for that next role or piece of business – so much of the event industry is about recommendations and working with people that networking is a crucial element of success.
Looking back over your career, what’s the biggest lesson you have learned?
I have learnt so much throughout my career, but what constantly surprises me is how small the events industry is. Everyone knows someone that knows you, so you should always try to work well and get along with people because they will always show up again further along your path!
