Vivid Sydney Leading the way in accessibility and inclusion for events

Vivid Sydney leads the way in accessibility and inclusion for events

For many people with disabilities as well as families with young children, large festivals with teeming crowds can be daunting. However Vivid Sydney, the largest festival of light, music and ideas in the Southern Hemisphere, is continually setting the benchmark for access and inclusion in major events.

Vivid Sydney will transform the harbour city into a colourful creative canvas from 24 May to 15 June, 2019. This is the third year Vivid Sydney has partnered with Cushman & Wakefield to make the festival more inclusive and encourage as many people to come and experience the spectacular large-scale light installations, contemporary music performances, public talks by renowned thought leaders as well as creativity workshops.

Para-athlete Kurt Fearnley visited Vivid Sydney with his family last year and speaks highly of the event’s accessibility and inclusion initiatives.

“Considerations such as featuring wheelchair friendly venues, providing Auslan interpreters at music and speaking events and offering audio described tours are exactly the kind of things we need to make their way into mainstream events and Vivid Sydney is leading the way,” Mr Fearnley said.

Here are six of the trailblazing initiatives.

01 ACCESSIBLE VIEWING AREAS Managed, accessible viewing areas offer a less obstructed

view and are also great places to just chill out from the crowd. Each will be open from 6pm every night.

• Sydney Opera House This managed area has seating on the western boardwalk and is entered near Portobello Caffe, Circular Quay.

• Hickson Road Reserve, Dawes Point Enjoy views of the Sydney Opera House and other harbourside lighting attractions.

• Darling Harbour There will be a managed viewing area on the Western Promenade of Cockle Bay.

02 TUMBALONG LIGHTS Tumbalong Lights will be a feature of Vivid Sydney for a second year. This is an inclusive play space where all children can play, participate and belong no matter what their level of ability.

03 AUSLAN INTERPRETERS Auslan Interpreters will be present at the two Vivid Ideas Game Changer events.

04 AUDIO DESCRIPTIONS For a memorable Vivid Sydney experience, listen to audio descriptions of featured Light Walk installations and projections.

05 TEXT TO TALK Listen to a description of each of the Light Walk installations on the Vivid Sydney website. Use your screen reader or smartphone device with accessibility options.

06 INTERACTIVE GUEST EXPERIENCES The Vivid Sydney Light Walk interactive guest experience allows small groups or those who cannot venture too far along the Light Walk to participate in Vivid Sydney more fully. Take a tour of the Walk via a Samsung Galaxy Tab A with the support of trained volunteers. This service will be available Monday to Thursday at Hickson Road Reserve and the Sydney Opera House accessible viewing area.

PLANNING YOUR TRIP To make the most of the event, it’s best to plan ahead. The website vividsydney.com/ accessibility has up-to-date information on accessible

viewing areas, drop-off and pickup points or you can download an accessible map. You can also contact the Access and Inclusion Team via email at vivid.access@ dnsw.com.au or call Access and Inclusion Co-ordinator Denise Willis on 02 9931 1190 or 0427 897 028 to discuss options for accessible travel.

Remember to inform the venue of your access requirements when booking tickets for a Vivid Ideas or Vivid Music event.

As crowds build at the weekends, it is a good idea for people with disabilities and families with young children consider attending on a Monday to Thursday, for easier access due to road closures. vividsydney.com