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Ticketmaster Launches Online Accessible Tickets In The UK
Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns – Fall Out Boy at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, March 28, 2018
Future events at the Welsh venue are going to offer fans the ability to submit their access requirements online
Ticketmaster has launched online ticket sales for disabled fans in the UK.
Within 24 hours of an online accessible order, the fan is asked to submit their accessible requirements via ‘My Account’ on the Ticketmaster site once. The information is then stored securely for all future purchases.
Ticketmaster reacts to a recent survey by UK charity Attitude Is Everything, which found that 82% of some 300 people surveyed would sign up for a system that allowed them to pre-register access requirements in order to speed up the access booking process.
They had been put off buying tickets because of inaccessible booking systems. Many have had to pay extra to be able to buy a ticket online, or been given no option to purchase online at all.
The technology launches with future events at Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus (SEC), which includes the SSE Hydro and the Armadillo, and Motorpoint Arena Cardiff.
Andrew Parsons, managing director at Ticketmaster UK, told Pollstar back in 2018 that he would like to se the industry unite behind the topic of accessibility to venues. “Every fan has the right of equal access to live entertainment,” he said.
Now, his company is following words up with action. “We knew we had to do more for disabled fans and our team has worked hard on this ground-breaking technology that endeavours to make ticket buying simple for all,” Parsons said. “Every fan should have the same access to the events they love, it’s an ongoing process and one we continue to prioritise.”
Ticketmaster has worked closely with Attitude Is Everything and its Ticketing Without Barriers Coalition, as well as with the SEC and Motorpoint Arena to come up with its new system.
Ticketmaster – Ticketmaster UK MD Andrew Parsons
Experienced one of the busiest summers in company history
Attitude Is Everything defined five key elements needed to ensure an equal booking experience for deaf and disabled music fans: a simple and universal system for evidencing access requirements, accurate and disability-aware information and customer service, choice and flexibility when booking tickets, to be able to trust that access requirements will be met, and equal access to everything.
According to Suzanne Bull MBE, CEO at Attitude is Everything, Ticketmaster has achieved all five steps. “This is real progress for millions of disabled fans who are entitled to a variety of ways in which they can book their tickets,” she said.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images – People outside the SSE Hydro in Glasgow
The arena now offers disabled fans an easy access to the right ticket
Debbie McWilliams, director of Live Entertainment at the SEC, added: “We’re committed to making a visit to the SEC an enjoyable experience for everyone, and a real focus for us is to deliver a system that offers equal access to tickets for all fans.”
Graham Walters, COO at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, commented: “We’re extremely proud of our Live Access Scheme at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff and we’re always looking at how we can improve our service with a more convenient way for customers with access requirements to book tickets. We’ve been working with Ticketmaster for several months, testing digital solutions for a streamlined service so that access customers can book tickets online; simpler, easier and faster. By expanding our booking options to meet individual needs, it’s a positive step forward for accessible ticketing.”
The new technology is scheduled to roll out across more events, venues and countries in the future.
The news follows Ticketmaster UK’s nomination for the “Ticketing Without Barriers” award at this year’s Outstanding Attitude Awards 2019 held by Attitude is Everything.
The award went to The Ticket Factory in the end, for the development and implementation of a registration service that enables customers to link access requirements to their Ticket Factory account, opening up the ability to book access online.