We hope this is the future for all festivals.
People with reduced mobility will know that attending a festival can often be more hassle than it’s worth. First, there’s trying to get a wheelchair or another kind of mobility aid through the mud, then there’s the situation with the toilets, which are often narrow or not accessible at all, and for which people have to wait for long periods of time.
Crowds can be a right pain in the behind, and not everyone can bear to stand for so long whilst watching a band perform, and not everybody is comfortable in large crowds. We can probably all agree that things need to change because people will disabilities should be able to enjoy the same freedoms and opportunities to enjoy themselves like everyone else, right? Well, Straf_Werk sees that things cannot go on as they are if festivals are to be inclusive for everyone, and so they’re doing something about it.
Het Parool quotes Heidi Oud, marketing manager at Straf_Work, as having said:
“Our producer spoke to a girl at a concert. She said this was her last concert: she would soon be in a wheelchair. That should of course not be a reason to never go to a concert or festival again. Then we started looking into what we could do as a festival to make it more accessible.”
To try and make the festival more accessible to everyone, the people behind Straf_Werk Festival are working with Handicap NL. This wonderful organisation works with businesses to make the Netherlands more disability-friendly, and they also work with disabled individuals to provide services like wheelchair training.
The next festival will be on August 14 in Havenpark, Amsterdam, and although it’s already sold out, some tickets have been set aside for people who could benefit from a more accessible festival. If you think that you might fit the bill, you can register online from June 8, and test it all out. The festival is aiming to become completely accessible to those with disabilities, and we absolutely salute that endeavor!