New book: How to make festivals barrier-free

With the new publication "Barrier-free open-air events", the two editors and festival experts Prof. Dr. Matthias Johannes Bauer and Tom Naber from the IST University of Applied Sciences for Management follow on from their first volume of studies on festival management.

Research into accessibility at music festivals forms the basis for the inclusive design and organization of these events. In her thesis, Master's graduate Saskia Prange analyzed the implementation of accessibility for people with physical disabilities at beach festivals along the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The focus on festivals at stands is particularly striking in terms of mobility restrictions. The author emphasizes the broad connectivity of her study by showing that a very large group of people can be affected: From wheelchair users to people with walking sticks or rollators and parents with baby carriages to visually impaired people with a long cane for the blind.

Accessibility at festivals for people with visual impairments

The latter group is the focus of Jana Diefenbach's study. Her master's thesis, also written as part of the communication studies program at the IST University of Applied Sciences, is an empirical study on the implementation and relevance of accessibility for people with visual impairments at music festivals in Germany. The particular challenge here for those affected is that hearing is of fundamental importance for blind people and the high volume levels at open-air events make hearing as a primary sense of perception almost impossible. Mobility, communication, perception of the environment and access to information are therefore more restricted than in other situations.

Both contributions make it clear that scientific analysis and reflection on accessibility at music festivals is an indispensable step towards developing effective solutions and bringing about positive change.