Fringe Society wins 2019 Accessible Edinburgh Festivals Award
21 August 2019
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has been recognised as part of the 2019 Accessible Edinburgh Festivals Awards, which celebrate festival venues and organisations that are committed to being more inclusive. The awards are run by Euan’s Guide, the disabled access review site where disabled people, their family, friends and carers can find and share reviews on the accessibility of venues around the UK and beyond.
The Fringe Shop and Box Office picked up the inaugural Hello Award for ‘a venue that creates a warm welcome for all of its visitors’. This was in recognition of our first ever Disabled Access Day, which allowed people to find out about our services in a relaxed environment ahead of the festival.
Speaking about the Fringe Disabled Access Day, Euan's Guide said:
‘Euan’s Guide was particularly impressed with the Fringe Shop and Box Office’s commitment to making participation as easy as possible. This has been achieved through their dedicated Disabled Access Day which was held on Saturday 13 July, this event gave people the chance to meet the access booking team and discover all of the services available ahead of the Fringe. All staff at the shop and box office have had disability awareness training and there is a dedicated access ticket counter in the shop and a dedicated phone line, both of which are easy to use and offer friendly customer service. The use of the Neatebox Welcome app ensures that a disabled person’s access requirements will be met while the use of the blue carpets and sensory backpacks allow people who might otherwise feel excluded take part in the festival’s activities.’
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘Everyone should have the chance to enjoy Edinburgh’s festivals and the Accessible Edinburgh Festivals Awards are testament to this. We are proud to receive the Euan’s Guide Hello Award as it shows that the steps we are taking at the Fringe Society are making a difference for people with access requirements coming to the Fringe, ensuring it is more welcoming and easier for them to attend. We will continue to provide and expand these services by working with our partners to ensure that the Fringe continues to become more inclusive.’