Sustainable and Inclusive Events: The Pending Commitment to Sensory Accessibility

Sustainable and Inclusive Events: The Pending Commitment to Sensory Accessibility

On the path toward a more sustainable and fair events industry, sensory accessibility emerges as one of the major challenges still unresolved.

In a context where there is growing focus on reducing environmental footprints, optimizing resources, and applying ESG criteria in cultural production, a crucial debt remains: ensuring that events are accessible to everyone, including people with visual or hearing disabilities.

Javier Aguado Alonso, Protocol and Events Coordinator at Grupo Social ONCE, shares with Eventsost a deep and critical reflection on the current state of accessibility in festivals and concerts, providing concrete examples and highlighting both progress and the structural barriers that persist.

“There is still much to be done”: an honest look at the present.

 According to Aguado, progress in sensory accessibility remains sporadic and uneven. While he acknowledges positive initiatives, such as guiding blind people to their seats or improving signage in certain spaces, he stresses that, overall, “there is still much to be done” for events to be truly accessible.

 He points to the pilot test at Madrid’s “Las Noches del Botánico” festival, where vibrating backpacks for people with hearing impairments and sign language interpreters were introduced. In his view, “these gestures are important,” but insufficient to speak of systematic inclusion.

 He also highlights the commitment of artists like Rozalén, who integrates a sign language interpreter in all her concerts. However, he regrets that “audio description of stage design remains absent in most performances,” leaving many blind people unable to fully enjoy the experience.

Technology without accessibility is exclusion.

Aguado is clear in his diagnosis: technology, in many cases, has become a barrier rather than a solution. He points out that inaccessible QR codes and ticketing portals remain “a puzzle” for people with visual disabilities.

He insists it is urgent to review these processes from a universal design perspective, one that not only includes people with recognized disabilities but also other audiences, such as older adults, who may have undiagnosed sensory difficulties.

 “Festivals are increasingly attracting an audience profile of a certain age (60/70 years old), and even if they don’t have a recognized disability, they may face mobility, hearing, or vision issues. We must not overlook this,” Aguado emphasizes.

Training: a key link for progress.

Accessibility cannot depend solely on structures or technical resources. Aguado stresses that training event staff is fundamental to guarantee an inclusive experience. He recommends that organizers work with specialized entities, such as associations for people with disabilities, and maintain constant dialogue with representative organizations like CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities).

This collaboration makes it possible to identify barriers, design realistic solutions, and promote good practices more effectively and professionally.

Challenges remain structural.

From his experience, Aguado identifies the main challenge as the lack of genuine commitment from organizers. He explains that accessibility is often not considered during the event design phase but rather added later as an afterthought. This lack of planning leads to incomplete or symbolic solutions.

He states firmly that “organizers must apply minimum accessibility standards as if they were basic obligations, just like occupational risk prevention.” Only then will it be possible to guarantee an equitable experience for everyone.

As for the most frequent complaints from people with disabilities, he lists five critical points:

• Purchasing tickets online, often inaccessible.
• Physical access to venues.
• Lack of designated space for people with reduced mobility.
• Scarcity of accessible restrooms and reserved parking spaces.
• Lack of staff training in customer service.

Accessibility + sustainability: a truly integral vision.

Aguado emphasizes that inclusion is not an isolated concept within sustainability. On the contrary, he believes integrating accessibility together with environmental criteria must be the foundation of responsible events.

“That would be ideal. And the true sign of normality: fulfilling the SDGs and the fundamental rights of people with disabilities, as established by the UN Convention,” he explains.

Incorporating this holistic approach not only complies with international standards but also expands the positive impact of events, making them more human, fair, and open to the entire community.

The strategic role of certifications.

To conclude his analysis, Aguado underscores the value of certification labels as tools to drive change. He firmly believes these mechanisms are useful as long as they are well-defined and set precise requirements.

“Such certifications are always helpful, but they must have very precise wording regarding the requirements to be met. Including them in pre-award festival tenders can have a very positive effect.”

An industry that doesn’t exclude is a more sustainable industry.

Sustainability in events cannot be understood partially. A festival that recycles its waste but inadvertently excludes people with sensory disabilities is neglecting a key aspect of responsible development: equity.

As Javier Aguado aptly summarizes, inclusion must be in the DNA of an event, from planning through to the audience experience. Designing sustainable events also means designing accessible events. Because there is no real sustainability without social justice. And there is no justice without accessibility for all.