Better access for our disabled audiences in 2024

The Edinburgh International Festival has created an Access Pass which is a free membership scheme for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people. It is designed to improve your booking process with the festival and means they can tailor an experience suited to your specific access requirements. You can sign up to the Access Pass HERE. 

The Festival has also published a comprehensive Access Guide which provides full details about accessible performances and venue accessibility, and is available in a number of formats – PDF and Audio [Soundcloud]. The Festival is offering a wide range of accessible performances, including those that are:

• British Sign Language interpreted
• Audio Described
• Captioned
• Relaxed performances

The Festival brochure is also available in a variety of accessible formats - including PDF and Audio [Soundcloud] - which you can find on the Euan's Guide site which also provides disabled access reviews of festival venues.

Further information on Access at the Edinburgh International Festival - togetehr with contact details - can be found HERE.

The Fringe offers accessible show listings, with information on performances that are:

• Captioned
• Audio Described
• Signed
• Relaxed
• Wheelchair access

The Fringe Box Office has staff in place specifically for access enquiries and ticket bookings. This service exists to assist anyone with an access requirement to make the most of what the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has to offer. The access tickets service is available to anyone who:

• would like to book specific accessibility services, eg a hearing loop, audio description headsets, captioning units or seating in relation to the location of a BSL interpreter
• requires specific accessibility information for each venue
• requires extra assistance when at a venue, including avoiding waiting in queues and busy environments
• has specific seating requirements
• is a wheelchair user
• requires a complimentary personal assistant ticket to attend a performance.

To find out more about the access tickets service please email accessbookings@edfringe.com or visit their access bookings page. 

The Fringe can be an overwhelming place and so the Festival also offers free sensory tools for anyone who needs them during August. These can be ordered in advance for delivery before the Fringe or picked up from Fringe Box Office throughout August. 

More Access information about the Edinburgh Festival Fringe can be found HERE. 

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is Scotland’s biggest, bestselling outdoor spectacle. The venue itself is situated in the most popular part of the city on Edinburgh Castle’s doorstep, high above the skyline. For this reason, patrons with limited mobility, those with heart or respiratory problems and those that suffer from vertigo, may find access more challenging. However, the Tattoo does not want anyone to miss out, so if you are in any doubts whatsoever about the venue accessibility, we recommend that you contact the Tattoo Office to discuss your particular requirements.

There are a number of wheelchair spaces in various sections of the Tattoo stands, as well as seating for those with restricted mobility, and accessible toilets are available within the venue on ground level. Vehicle passes are also available via the Tattoo Office for those with tickets to the disabled seating area and allow drivers (including taxis and ambulances) to transport audience members directly onto the Esplanade.

The Tattoo also provides specific assistance for those with hearing and visual impairments. A hearing loop system is available by reservation when booking tickets and audio description will be available at certain performances. Assistance dogs can also be admitted in certain areas of the venue. You can find out more about accessibility at the Tattoo HERE.

The broad scope of our partner galleries and EAF programme means that facilities vary from venue to venue. Their Guide Map lists the amenities available at each location, and individual access statements can be found at partner websites, where available. Edinburgh Art Festival has partnered with disability access website Euan’s Guide to share more detailed information about venue accessibility, sourced directly from the community.

All of the EAF commissions programme can be experienced with step-free access. Programme listings contain care considerations describing potentially sensitive material, as well as practical information about the environment of the event where relevant, for informed attendance. When booking your ticket, you will be able to input information about your access needs which staff will do their best to accommodate. 

EAF and partner galleries are proud to collaborate with Edinburgh Deaf Festival. It is an accessible celebration of deaf culture, language, and heritage through 9 – 18 August 2024. Tours will be performed in BSL with an interpreter providing an English voiceover. More information on BSL and Visual Description tours can be found at this Civic page.

The Festival believes that ticket prices should never be a barrier to accessing the arts - and their discounted Access tickets are dedicated to those who may experience additional obstacles to participating in the arts, such as our d/Deaf, Disabled, or low income patrons, with no proof or ID required.

For further information on access, please contact info@edinburghartfestival or 0131 226 6558.

The Book Festival's new home at Edinburgh Futures Institute is in the heart of the Old Town, in the former Royal Infirmary Hospital building. Look up and you’ll see the magnificent clock tower.

A selection of events in the programme are BSL interpreted and a selection will be. Look out for the BSL and CAP tags on the event pages under the event title. You can search for the events which are captioned or offer a BSL interpreter using the event search form. Or go straight to the list of events that are BSL interpreted, captioned or learning disability friendly. 

The site and venues are fully wheelchair accessible and there are wheelchairs you can borrow. Please call our Box Office on 0345 373 5888 or email boxoffice@edbookfest.co.uk when you book your tickets if you require assistance. Assistance dogs are welcome and you should let the Box Office know at least a day before your event so that they will sort out your seats. Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyards are also available to collect as you enter the Book Festival site and discreetly indicate to the trained staff that you may need additional support or help as you navigate the Book Festival site and attend events.

We have toilets for everyone in the Book Festival Village at Edinburgh College of Art, including gender neutral toilets, a wheelchair accessible toilet and a fully accessible Changing Places toilet.

There’s a lot to see and do at the Festival, and sometimes you might want to take a moment to yourself if it all feels a bit much. For those who would like to step away from the hubbub of the main areas, we will have a dedicated Quiet Space where you can take the time and space you need – look out for the signs on site or ask a staff member for directions.

You can find our more about accessibility at the Book Festival HERE.

The 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival has created a Guide listing all Audio Described (AD) and Hard of Hearing (HOH) Subtitled films at the Festival in 2024. A full plain text version of the overall programme, with AD and HOH listings is also available. 

Tickets are sold through the EdFringe Fringe Box Office and they have staff in place specifically for access enquiries and ticket bookings. This service exists to assist anyone with an access requirement to make the most of what Edinburgh International Film Festival has to offer. The access tickets service is available to anyone who:

• Would like to book specific accessibility services, for example, a hearing loop, or seating in relation to the location of a BSL interpreter.
• Requires specific accessibility information for each venue.
• Requires extra assistance when at a venue, including avoiding waiting in queues and busy environments.
• Has specific seating requirements.
• Is a wheelchair user.
• Requires a complimentary personal assistant ticket to attend a performance.

To find out more about the access tickets service, get in touch with EdFringe - Email access tickets service 

There are a series of Changing Places in central Edinburgh during August. These are accessible toilets with an adult-sized changing bench and hoist, for people who are unable to use a standard accessible toilet.

• The Booking Office Pub, Waverley Bridge, EH1 1BQ, Monday to Thursday 07:00 – 00:00, Friday to Sunday 07:00 – 01:00.
• National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, EH1 1JF, 10:00 – 17:00.
• The Scottish Parliament, 1 Horse Wynd, EH99 1SP, Monday to Saturday, 10:00 – 17:00. Last entry 16:30.
• Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, ModernOne carpark, 75 Belford Rd, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR, 09:45 – 17:30.
• Edinburgh Waverley Station, Edinburgh, EH1 1BB, Monday to Saturday 04:00 – 23:45, Sunday 06:00 – 23:45.
• St James Quarter, St James Crescent, level one of the Galleria, Edinburgh, EH1 3AD, Monday to Saturday 09:00 – 20:00, Sunday 10:00 – 18:00. This facility can only be accessed with a key which can be collected from the Guest Services Desk located on level one of St James Quarter (a radar key will not work).
• Edinburgh International Book Festival at Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh EH3 9DF – which is free to access but only available during the period of the festival [2 to 8 August, 10.00 - 22.00 daily; 12 to 28 August, 09.00 – 22.30 daily]
• Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Castle Esplanade: this modular changing place toilet, supplied and installed by Innova Care Concepts, is only open during the Tattoo performances to Tattoo ticket holders

• Search for blue badge car parking spaces on an interactive map from the City of Edinburgh Council.
• Lothian buses aim to make travel easier for everyone, including passengers with hearing and visual impairment, hidden disabilities, and wheelchair users.

• City Art Centre: See the full access statement here.
• National Museum of Scotland: See the full access statement here and sensory map here
• Dynamic Earth: See the full access information here and the sensory map here
• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: Download full access statement here
• Edinburgh Zoo: Download full access statement here
• Summerhall: Read full access information here

Euan's Guide is an excellent resource, providing detailed information and advice for disabled people, their friends, families and carers on accessibility. The site features reviews of venues, hotels, restaurants and more and has a lot of user-generated content.

Artlink Access Service provides advice and assistance to help people with accessibility needs to attend and participate in arts events in Edinburgh. For more information contact Artlink on 0131 229 3555, Typetalk 18001 0131 229 3555 or email info@artlinkedinburgh.co.uk

Gig Buddies is a befriending project in Midlothian, which aims to link music fans who have a learning disability with volunteers who share a common interest.