How do you write an event accessibility guide before arrival?

Someone has bought a ticket to your event. Before they book transport, they need to know whether the entrance has steps, whether they can sit down during the performance, and who can answer a question about the toilet. Your website says the venue is accessible. That still leaves them doing most of the planning themselves.

A useful event accessibility guide describes what a person will encounter, in the order they'll encounter it. Explain the journey to the entrance, getting in, taking part, using the facilities and leaving. Use verified details, say where something is unavailable or uncertain, and provide a contact who can arrange a specific answer.

Publish that information before people buy, then send the current version to ticket holders before they travel. A pre-arrival email is a reminder and an opportunity to explain changes. It shouldn't be the first time a buyer discovers that part of the advertised experience is reached only by stairs.

This article walks through checking the information, writing the guide, sending it and keeping it accurate when the event changes. There's a worked example and an email you can adapt. The aim is to help attendees plan their visit without having to disclose personal information just to find out how your venue works.

Start with the decisions your attendees need to make

Think about what happens before somebody leaves home. They might be arranging a driver, deciding which mobility equipment to bring, checking whether they can attend without a companion, or working out whether the programme leaves enough time for breaks. Those decisions need actual information. A warm welcome doesn't tell them how far the entrance is from the drop-off point.

Describe the conditions accurately, answer individual questions and work with the venue and suppliers to address barriers. The guide supports that work; it doesn't replace your responsibilities to attendees. Attendees can then explain what will help them. That conversation is much easier when both sides already understand the layout and programme.

VisitEngland's guidance on providing accessibility information recommends factual descriptions that help visitors make their own choices. It distinguishes key accessibility features from a more detailed guide to the journey through a venue. Its resources include events, festivals and shows, so you can use the relevant questionnaire when gathering venue information.

For your event, start with the questions that could change someone's purchase or travel plans. Is the main performance space step-free? Does the ticket guarantee a seat? Is there somewhere to take a break? Is interpretation available for the whole programme or selected sessions? Can a person leave and return? Put those answers where people can find them before committing.

Then add the detail someone needs to use the arrangements. A hearing loop needs a location and information about how to access it. An alternative entrance needs opening hours. A quiet room needs a description of its actual conditions. If the room shares a wall with the stage, calling it silent sets an expectation you may not be able to meet.

Our event accessibility checklist covers the planning work behind these arrangements. The guide you're writing now explains the resulting experience to the attendee. If you discover that an answer depends on a decision nobody has made, take that question back to the event team before turning it into public copy.

Check the event setup before you write the description

The venue's permanent access guide is a useful starting point. It won't necessarily describe your event. A hall normally used for seated talks may have a standing crowd, a temporary stage and a merchandise counter across the usual route. Read the venue information alongside the current floor plan, production schedule and entry arrangements.

Ask the venue contact to walk the advertised journey with you. Begin where attendees will actually arrive. Follow the route through ticket checks to the spaces included in the ticket, then the toilets, refreshments and departure points. Record the exact names your signs will use. "Side door" means very little to someone arriving at a building they've never seen.

For each public statement, keep a private note of who confirmed it and when. You might record that the duty manager confirmed the west entrance will remain staffed until the audience leaves. Another note might say that the production lead confirmed captions for the opening talk only. These notes help your team resolve questions without repeatedly asking the attendee to explain themselves.

Measurements need particular care. Use checked measurements with units and enough context to explain what was measured. A door's clear opening is different from the width of its frame. A route's length doesn't describe its gradient or surface. Ask an access professional to verify details where your team doesn't have the knowledge to measure or interpret them properly.

Don't copy a dimension from an old hire brochure because it makes the guide look thorough. If you can't verify it, say what you know and arrange the remaining check. "We're checking the clear opening of the courtyard gate and will update this page on Tuesday" is more useful than an exact figure somebody guessed.

Check what happens outside the main arrival period too. A staffed door at opening time may become locked during the performance. A lift may normally stop operating before your event finishes. The attendee needs the arrangement for the visit they are buying, including late arrival and departure, rather than the building's usual daytime operation.

Once the information is checked, give one person responsibility for the public guide. They don't have to inspect every facility themselves. They do need access to the people who can confirm it, authority to question vague answers and a clear way to hear about changes before those changes affect attendees.

Describe arrival as a route someone can follow

Start with the destination name, full address and entrance location. If the event entrance differs from the address a navigation app suggests, explain that immediately. Add a recognisable street name or fixed landmark. Avoid relying on a sponsor banner that might be removed or a volunteer who might be called away.

For each arrival option you describe, explain the relevant connection to the entrance. A parking space might be close to the building but separated from it by steps. A drop-off bay might require crossing a service road. A station might have a step-free exit on the opposite side from the shortest walking route. Check the connection rather than repeating a transport operator's general accessibility label.

Keep responsibility clear. You can describe a checked route from a particular stop while directing readers to the transport provider for current lift availability and service information. Don't promise that public transport will operate normally on the day. Give attendees enough information to identify the service and check the details that your event team doesn't control.

Describe surfaces and exposure where they matter. Someone deciding between a lightweight chair and other equipment may need to know about loose gravel, grass, cobbles or a long uncovered section. For an outdoor event, explain what your team will do if ground conditions change and where updates will appear. Avoid describing a dry-weather route as guaranteed in every condition.

Distances are useful when verified. Walking times alone assume a pace that won't suit everyone. If you include both, explain the distance first and avoid presenting a typical walking estimate as a promise. Identify places to rest if they exist, including whether they are publicly available or inside an area that opens only with the event.

Arrival instructions should also explain waiting. Say where the queue forms, whether there is seating and how someone can request an alternative to prolonged standing. If you offer a different check-in arrangement, make sure staff understand it and say how an attendee accesses it. A separate lane with nobody assigned to it creates another uncertainty at the busiest point of the visit.

Finish the arrival section at a clear handover. The reader should know which desk or person they will reach after entry and what happens next. That might be ticket scanning followed by an optional conversation with the access lead. Don't require every disabled attendee to announce themselves to a desk when they only need the same general directions as everybody else.

Explain what taking part will involve

The venue can be step-free while the activity still creates barriers. A workshop might require standing at a bench. An immersive performance might move between rooms. A conference exercise might ask people to read a screen and respond quickly. Describe the activity as it will run, including any alternatives your team has actually agreed.

Say whether seating is provided, reserved, movable or available on request. Explain the kind of seating when relevant. A high stool without a back is a different offer from a chair with a backrest. If the event is mostly standing, explain how someone can ask about seating and what their view will be, rather than assuming a chair anywhere in the room solves the problem.

Keep ticket arrangements distinct from route information. Our guide to accessible seats and companion tickets explains the allocation and booking decisions. Your pre-arrival guide should describe the confirmed arrangement, where the person goes and whom to contact if the booking information doesn't match what they expected.

Communication support needs the same precision. State which sessions have captions, interpretation or other support, where that support is available and how attendees use it. "Captioned event" is ambiguous if only the main stage has captions. Explain the limitation before someone builds a day around smaller sessions that don't have the same provision.

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's guidance on accessible events covers accessible materials, communication support, breaks and participation. It also recommends asking participants about their requirements. Use it when briefing presenters, so the information you send attendees matches the slides, microphones and activities they'll encounter.

Describe sensory conditions without trying to predict everybody's reaction. Say where amplified sound, flashing effects, darkness, strong smells or crowding are expected. Identify a lower-stimulation space if you have one and explain its limits. "Lower sound levels, with music still audible from the hall" gives a reader more control than "a relaxing room for everyone."

Include the rhythm of the event. Doors opening, the first activity, scheduled breaks and the finish time answer different questions. If people can leave a session and return, say so. If re-entry to the whole venue is restricted, explain the actual policy and the contact for a specific request. Don't let the access guide contradict the ticket conditions or an individually agreed arrangement.

Cover facilities, personal requests and help on the day

A facility description needs a location, a usable route and any conditions on access. For toilets, explain whether a key is needed and how to get it. Check that the facility is available during your event rather than in a part of the building that closes early. Confirm arrangements for keeping the approach clear and dealing with a fault.

Don't use one toilet label to imply equipment you haven't checked. A wheelchair-accessible toilet does not automatically contain an adult changing bench or a hoist. If someone needs a particular facility, provide verified information about it or explain that it isn't available. A nearby facility is only a useful alternative after you've checked its opening hours and the journey there.

For refreshments, explain the practical service. Where are menus available? Can staff help someone carry an order? Where can a person sit? Direct specific ingredient and allergen questions to the responsible catering team, and make sure that route works. Don't convert a vendor's intention to offer something into a confirmed dietary promise.

A public guide should include a private way to discuss requirements. Ask what arrangement would help the person attend. You usually don't need their diagnosis to explain the entrance or confirm a chair. If a request needs further information, explain why, who will receive it and what will happen next. Avoid sending people through repeated conversations with different teams.

In the UK, the ICO's special category data guidance explains the extra rules that can apply when you process health information. An ordinary lawful basis and an additional special category condition may both be required. The ICO flags this guidance as under review following legislative changes, so check the current position for your processing rather than copying a consent sentence into a form.

Operationally, keep public facts and individual arrangements separate. The whole audience can read the toilet location. Only the staff who need to deliver a person's confirmed arrangement should receive the necessary details about that arrangement. Don't put access requests into a general crew chat or use them to create marketing audiences.

Name an actual contact route for the day itself. If the pre-event inbox will be unmonitored while your team is running doors, say which contact replaces it and when. Test that channel at the venue. A phone number that has no reception in the hall won't help the person waiting at the entrance.

Make the guide usable before adding more detail

Publish the main guide as readable web text with clear headings. An attendee should be able to enlarge it, search it and move directly to the section they need. A downloadable copy can be useful, but don't make a designed attachment the only way to find the entrance instructions. Someone may be checking those instructions outside on a phone.

The W3C's writing tips for web accessibility recommend meaningful headings, descriptive links, clear instructions and useful text alternatives for images. Apply those basics to the guide and its email introduction. A bold line that merely looks like a heading may not provide the structure a screen reader uses to navigate.

A map can explain relationships that are awkward in prose. Still provide written directions for the important routes. Someone who can't interpret the image needs the same arrival information, and someone with a poor connection might never load it. Keep the entrance names on the map, in the text and on the actual signs consistent.

Use photographs or route videos when they answer a real question, such as identifying a doorway among several similar entrances. Describe the relevant visual information in text and provide appropriate alternatives. A sweeping promotional video won't help a reader identify the ramp. Check that any example image still shows the current arrangement after production equipment arrives.

Test the guide with people who use different ways of reading and navigating. Pay them for their work when commissioning a review. Ask them to complete practical tasks, such as finding the toilet route or contacting the event team, and listen to what stops them. Don't treat one person's successful visit through the page as proof that it works for everyone.

Also test your wording with someone who has never visited the venue. If they cannot identify the door from the description, add the missing location. If they assume a seat is included when it isn't, fix the sentence. Editing for clarity is part of making the information usable, even when the website itself has passed a technical check.

A worked pre-arrival guide you can adapt

Here's a fictional example for a paid one-day event called Makers Exchange at River Rooms. The venue, event, measurements, services and contact names are invented to show the level of detail a guide can contain. They are not design standards or recommended dimensions. For a real event, include the verified full postal address and working links to the venue, programme and transport information. The street names below are illustrative. Replace them with checked information for your event, and don't publish a provision your team hasn't arranged.

Imagine the event includes talks in a main hall and practical demonstrations in a studio on the same floor. A small upstairs exhibition is advertised separately as an optional part of the day. Its stair-only access needs to be clear before purchase. The example below shows how the team might communicate that limitation alongside the confirmed ground-floor arrangements.

Event and current information

Makers Exchange takes place at River Rooms on Saturday 22 May 2027. Doors open at 9am, the first talk starts at 10am and the programme finishes at 5pm. All times are local venue time. This guide was checked on 7 May. The event page will carry any later changes, and we'll contact ticket holders directly about changes that affect their visit.

The main hall, demonstration studio, refreshment area and toilet described below are on the ground floor. The optional upstairs exhibition is reached by stairs only. There is no passenger lift to that exhibition. If you want to discuss what this means for your visit or a booking you've made, contact the access team before arranging travel.

Getting to the entrance

Use the west entrance on Mill Lane. The main postal entrance on the square has steps and is not the route described here. Look for the fixed River Rooms sign above the west door. Staff will be at that entrance from 9am until the audience has left after the programme. You can use it for arrival and departure throughout the event.

The agreed drop-off point is on Mill Lane, 45 metres from the west entrance along a paved route without steps. The route is outside and has no seating. It crosses the venue driveway, where an event steward will manage vehicle movements during arrival. Ask the access team for the checked route details if you need more information about the surface or slope.

There is no event parking at the venue. The public car park on Dock Street is operated separately. Check its current spaces, restrictions and charges with the operator before travelling. We can describe the route from that car park to the event, but we cannot reserve a public parking space or guarantee its availability.

Entry and moving around

Show your ticket at the west entrance desk. If finding the ticket on your phone is difficult, ask the desk team for help with the booking lookup. You don't have to explain an access requirement in the queue. Ask for the access lead if you want a private conversation about an arrangement or a problem with the route.

The checked clear opening of the west entrance door is 96 centimetres. Staff will assist with opening it when requested. The route to the main hall and studio is on the same level, with no stairs. These details describe the entrance and route; they don't establish whether every item of equipment or individual access requirement can be accommodated. Contact us about anything you need to check.

The venue layout will be checked again after the event has been set up. If furniture or equipment changes the route described here, we'll correct the guide and contact affected attendees. Ask a steward wearing a blue event tabard if you cannot find the entrance desk, main hall, studio or toilet.

Talks, demonstrations and breaks

The main hall has movable chairs with backs. There are also spaces arranged for wheelchair users and companions within the audience layout. Contact the access team about a particular seating requirement or to check an arrangement already agreed. The studio demonstrations can be watched while seated. Attendees are not required to handle tools or stand at a workbench to take part.

Live captions are provided for the main-hall talks and displayed on the screen at the front. The studio demonstrations are not captioned. Written demonstration notes will be available before the event. If you need another communication arrangement, contact the access team so we can discuss the request and confirm what can be provided. We'll confirm any agreed arrangement with you directly, including where and when it will be available.

Talks have scheduled breaks, shown in the programme. You may leave and re-enter the main hall during a talk. Ask the door steward to help you find a route that doesn't cross the presenter area. Re-entry to the venue is permitted with your valid event ticket. Keep the ticket available when returning through the west entrance.

Sound, lighting and a lower-stimulation room

The main hall uses amplified speech and has brighter stage lighting than the surrounding rooms. There are no planned strobe effects. The studio includes working machinery during demonstrations, with the relevant sessions identified in the programme. Ask us before attending if you need more detail about a particular demonstration's sounds or smells.

The small room beside the entrance desk is available for a break from 9am until 5:30pm. It has chairs, lower lighting and no background music. Sound from the hall may still be audible. It is not a silent room or a medical treatment space. You can enter without booking; ask the entrance team for help if the room is full.

Toilets and refreshments

The ground-floor wheelchair-accessible toilet is 20 metres from the main hall along the signed corridor. It is unlocked during event hours, and the venue team checks that the approach stays clear. It does not contain an adult changing bench or a hoist. Contact the access team if you need more information about the layout or equipment.

Food and drinks are sold separately in the ground-floor refreshment area. Printed menus are available at the counter, and staff can read them aloud on request. Ask the catering supervisor about ingredients and allergens. If you need assistance carrying an order to a table, ask a member of the catering team. Seating is available in that area throughout the programme.

Personal arrangements and contact

Sam, the event access lead, answers access enquiries through the contact form labelled "Access questions" on the event page or by email at access@makersexchange.example. You can request an email reply or a phone conversation. Tell us which part of the visit you want to discuss and what would help. Please don't send medical records through the general contact form.

Please contact us by 14 May where possible if your request needs a supplier or a change to the setup. That helps us make arrangements before the event. Requests after that date are still welcome and will be considered; we will explain what can be confirmed. The date is a planning request, not an automatic refusal of later support.

On event day, the west entrance desk is staffed from 9am until the audience has left. Ask for Sam or the duty access lead. If you need to discuss assistance during an emergency, contact us before arrival or speak privately with the access lead when you arrive. Staff will explain the arrangements relevant to you. Follow event staff instructions if an incident occurs.

Leaving the event

The west entrance remains available after the last session. If someone is collecting you, use the same agreed Mill Lane pickup point described above. You can wait inside the entrance area until 5:30pm. Tell the access lead before the programme finishes if you need to discuss a later pickup or another departure arrangement.

The optional exhibition closes with the programme at 5pm. Please check the transport operator's current departure information before travelling. If your plans change on the day, the entrance team can explain the event arrangements and help you contact the appropriate service. They cannot guarantee public transport or arrange personal transport that hasn't been agreed.

The useful thing about this example is how much a reader can decide without contacting anyone. They know which activities are on the ground floor, which room has captions, where the step-free entrance is and what the break room offers. A personal conversation can then focus on the remaining question, instead of starting with the building's address.

Your own guide may need more detail. A camping festival needs information about overnight facilities and ground conditions. A reserved-seat concert needs the booked location and viewing conditions. Keep the same principle when expanding it. Describe the actual journey and the offer, and make the limits visible alongside the provision they qualify.

Send a short email that helps people use the guide

Send the guide early enough for attendees to act on it. The right timing depends on the decisions involved. Someone booking accessible transport needs more notice than someone checking which door opens at 9am. Publish the important facts at ticket launch, confirm the detailed arrangements as they become known and remind buyers before travel.

For Makers Exchange, the team could send the following introduction once the guide has been checked. Imagine this email goes out on 7 May, continuing the fictional example. Replace the contact instructions with a working route that somebody monitors. In a real email, make the guide title a descriptive link to the current event-specific page.

Subject: Makers Exchange arrival and access guide for 22 May

Hi,

You're booked for Makers Exchange at River Rooms on Saturday 22 May. Doors open at 9am and the first talk starts at 10am, local venue time. Please use the west entrance on Mill Lane. The postal entrance on the square has steps.

Our arrival and access guide explains the route, seating, captions, toilets and break room. It also describes the stair-only access to the optional upstairs exhibition and the studio sessions that don't have captions. Please read it before arranging travel if those details affect your plans.

You can send an access question through the event page and ask for an email reply or a phone conversation with Sam. Please contact us by 14 May where possible for arrangements that need advance preparation. Later requests are still welcome, and we'll explain what we can confirm.

If you booked for other people, please share the guide with them. You don't need to collect their personal access information for us. They can contact the access team directly.

We'll tell ticket holders about any changes that affect arrival or the arrangements in the guide. On the day, the west entrance desk can help you find the duty access lead.

Thanks,

The Makers Exchange team

That email carries the entrance and time in readable text rather than making the reader open an attachment for everything. It also names significant limitations without burying them in the linked guide. Don't hide a material restriction behind "everything you need to know" simply because the longer explanation exists elsewhere.

Loopyah's attendee email tools keep ticket buyers in your contacts, support audiences based on purchases and let you send yourself a test. The product distinguishes event updates from promotions. Use that connection to reach the relevant buyers with accurate arrival information, then check the actual recipient selection and message before sending.

The guide still needs an owner who verifies the venue details, answers requests and corrects changes. Check that people who joined later receive the current information too. Our wider event email marketing strategy explains how buyer updates fit around sales messages, so somebody who has already paid receives the practical information they need.

Agree how you will correct a change

An access guide needs a working correction process because the event can change after the email goes out. A lift develops a fault. Construction closes the planned approach. A captioning provider changes. Decide who receives these reports, who checks the consequence and who contacts affected people before you need to do it under pressure.

First establish what has changed and which part of the visit it affects. Ask the responsible venue or supplier contact to confirm the current position. Then assess the alternative with the appropriate people. A route that looks possible on a plan may need professional assessment before you tell attendees to use it. Don't publish an untested workaround just to make the update sound reassuring.

Correct the main guide, put a clear update near the top and send a direct notice where the change affects booked attendees. Use the channels you can actually reach them through, and account for group bookings. A buyer may need to share the message with others. Where you have a confirmed individual arrangement, contact that person through the agreed private route as well.

For example, imagine the fictional event's west entrance becomes unavailable before opening. The team should explain which entrance replaces it only after checking that replacement, its route and staffing. If there is no confirmed suitable alternative, say the issue is unresolved, name the next update time and discuss the affected bookings. Repeating "we'll do our best" doesn't help someone decide whether to start their journey.

Don't quietly remove a promised facility from the guide and assume the updated page resolves the matter. The person who booked may reasonably still rely on the earlier information. Explain the change and the available options, review your obligations in the relevant jurisdiction and deal with the person's circumstances. Any booking remedy needs an authorised decision, not an improvised promise from a volunteer.

For emergencies, the public guide should match the event's assessed arrangements. In Great Britain, HSE's event incident and emergency guidance includes evacuation of disabled people, clear staff responsibilities and testing communication systems. Work with the venue and competent advisers on the actual plan. Public arrival copy doesn't establish that an emergency route or evacuation method is safe.

Brief the people delivering the change. Door staff, the access lead, security and the venue duty manager need the current instructions. Remove old printed directions where you can. If attendees have downloaded an earlier guide, the new email and on-site signs must make the difference clear. A correct website won't prevent a wrong turn when a steward still points at yesterday's entrance.

Check the guide against a real visit before sending it

Read the finished guide while following the route, with the event setup in place where possible. Start outside the venue and use only the instructions an attendee receives. This catches missing turns, signs that nobody installed and facilities that exist on the floor plan but can't be reached around the merchandise queue.

Ask the access lead to compare the guide with confirmed personal arrangements without adding those personal details to the public version. Ask production to check the promised programme support, and the venue team to confirm opening hours and departure access. A copy review can catch vague language. It cannot discover a locked door without someone checking the door.

Then send yourself the email and follow every relevant link on a phone. Check that the guide opens without an unnecessary login, headings work, contact instructions are current and the email still makes sense with images hidden. Test the form or inbox and make sure the person answering it knows what has been promised. Don't use a no-reply address as the only response route.

For a small event, you can keep the final review manageable with a few practical tasks:

• Find the correct entrance from the drop-off point using the public directions.

• Identify which parts of the paid programme have the described communication support.

• Locate the toilet information and any equipment limitations.

• Find a private contact route and check what happens after submitting a question.

• Work out how to leave and where to wait for collection.

If one task fails, fix the relevant arrangement or description and repeat that task. There's no need to rewrite the whole guide because a sign name changed. There is a need to check every place that name appears, including the email and the staff instructions, so attendees don't get contradictory answers.

After the event, keep a short record of the questions people still had and the information that turned out to be wrong. Separate a writing problem from a delivery problem. If the guide described a quiet room accurately but the room was used for storage, editing the paragraph won't solve it. The next event needs a protected room and someone responsible for keeping it available.

If several people ask which entrance to use, improve the location wording and signage. If someone asks a question specific to their equipment, answer it properly without assuming the whole guide failed. Review the feedback with the people who delivered the event and, where appropriate, the attendees who raised it. Use what happened to improve the next checked version.

Before your next on-sale date, open the guide alongside the new venue and programme plan. Confirm what still applies, delete arrangements that won't exist and investigate the unanswered questions before people need to travel. The next guide should describe the next event, even when most of the wording can be reused.