Deaf Woman Sues UK Concert Promoter For Failing To Supply Concert Interpreter

Xcel Energy Center – Little Mix
Little Mix grabs the attention of Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., March 16.

A deaf mother is suing British concert promoter Liz Hobbs Group (LHG Live), because it failed to provide an interpreter for the support acts at a Little Mix concert in 2017.

According to the BBC, the mother, named Sally Reynolds, had bought tickets for the Sept. 1 show at the South of England Event Centre in Sussex for herself, two friends, who are also deaf, and each of their daughters, who can all hear. After the purchase, Reynolds sent a request for an interpreter to LHG Live.

The promoter initially offered her a special category of tickets and told her she could bring her own interpreter, but she thought the offer met her needs. There is a law in the UK, the Equality Act 2010, under which compels organizations servicing the public to ensure they implement adjustments to make the experience for disabled people come as close to that of unimpaired people as possible.

After sending a couple of more unsuccessful requests, Reynolds applied for a court injunction to get LGH Live to yield. Which it did. However, the interpreter was only on stage during the Little Mix concert, but not during the support acts.

“We only got access to the last act. If you went to a film can you imagine only getting access to the last 20 minutes?,” Reynolds told the BBC, adding that “we had paid for our tickets like everyone else.”

LHG said in a statement that it consulted with Reynolds’ recommended agency and “agreed to provide the professional interpreter of her choice for the Little Mix show. This included specific staging and lighting, and a set list in advance.” The offer also included “upgraded tickets, access to private accessible toilets and all public announcements on giant screens either side of the main stage.”

Still, Reynolds is going to issue legal proceedings, and sue the promoter for not making sufficient adjustments for the whole concert. Her solicitor Chris Fry told the BBC that it was “important that venues and promoters recognize that the legal duties to make reasonable adjustments extend to them. It is an important way of making society more inclusive.”