Llangollen Eisteddfod gears up to be more user-friendly for people with disabilities

An iconic international festival has pledged to provide more opportunities for people with disabilities to enjoy the event.

Officials from the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod are taking advantage of a special project designed to gear-up events and businesses to be user-friendly for people with additional needs.

They took part in an Introduction to Accessibility Awareness workshop and are participating in a pioneering four-day course created by community interest company PIWS to establish Accessibility Champions within the organisations.

Other events that have signed up include the National Eisteddfod that’s being held in Wrexham in 2025, the Urdd National Eisteddfod and the Royal Welsh Show, along with Disability Sport Wales and Wales Young Farmers’ Clubs.

Peace and Harmony

Every year Llangollen Eisteddfod, established in 1947 to promote peace and harmony in the aftermath of the Second World War, transforms the picturesque Dee Valley town into a colourful multi-cultural melting pot.

Billed as the event where Wales welcomes the world, organisers say this year’s festival, that’s being held from Tuesday, July 8, to Sunday, July 13, will be even more welcoming for people with disabilities.

Chair John Gambles said: “Accessibility for all is a huge priority for the Llangollen Eisteddfod. We always act on feedback from our customers to ensure our festival is as accessible as it possibly can be.

“As an organisation, we welcome the opportunity that any further training to improve will bring.

“We pride ourselves on welcoming the world to Wales and that means being as inclusive as we possibly can and sharing best practice with other festivals across Wales.”

If funding allows, Eisteddfod officials say they will look to provide an equipment package to fill one festival tent with specialist sensory equipment suitable for both children and adults of all ages and abilities.

“These including bubble tube, infinity mirror, LED interactive tube, colour changing mood seat, light board and glass pebbles/cubes, fibre optic tails, foam flooring, UV floor tiles, projectors, beanbag seating, music and lots more.

“Four small pop tents within the sensory den space would provide safe spaces suitable for two people in each.

“Two experienced Sensory Support staff would be on-site all day, ensuring the operation and cleanliness of the equipment and offering physical and emotional support to visitors where appropriate.

“As I have said, though any best practice that come to our attention as part of the course will be looked at,” he added.

Accessibility

Set-up in 2018, PIWS is a community-driven organisation dedicated to enhancing accessibility for individuals with disabilities, including autism, learning difficulties, sensory impairments, mobility challenges, and brain illnesses.

Founder Davina Carey-Evans, who has two sons with complex disabilities and whose husband was severely disabled in a fall, is spearheading the project.

As well as being the right thing to do, she said, it can also help the events tap into a lucrative market.

“We hear a lot about the power of the LGBTQ+ community’s pink pound but the purple pound is also very valuable and in accessible tourism across the UK,” said Davina.

“There are 16.1 million disabled people in the UK, this represents 24% of the population and it has been estimated there is an untapped potential value of £15.8 billion a year in Accessible Tourism alone.

“Gearing up businesses to be user-friendly for the disabled isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes commercial sense as well,” she said.

Davina has enlisted the help of three motivated women to run the project. All three have years of experience in the hospitality business and are dedicated to training.

Rachel Jones, who hails from Cardiff but who now lives at Trawsfynydd near Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, said: “I’ve been training in hospitality for 30 years but it wasn’t until I had my own family that I realised how difficult it was for people to access venues if they had additional needs. There were many times when my own family just didn’t go out because it was more trouble than it was worth.

“My passion has always been to help hospitality businesses to be the best they can be. I work mainly with very small businesses and it’s lovely to go back and see the effect training has made so this course has really opened my eyes to the difference we can make for families, for people with additional needs just by adjusting and making a few simple things.”

She added she started working in hospitality behind the bar at her local rugby club when she was 16 and has worked in several five-star hotels during her career.

“I got interested in training and when I began looking for another job I looked at hotel and training opportunities. I’ve done training work all over the north of England and Wales.”

Rachel added as a family once they found an accessible place to visit they would return again and again.

“It’s not about the place as much as the welcome, that is really very important,” she said.

Making a difference

Melanie Cash, from Cricieth but who was born in Cardiff, said: “My Dad was a hotelier and we moved whenever he changed jobs. I was drawn into hospitality on the back of it. I worked in some of the biggest hotel companies like Marriott and Hilton and they were fantastic at training so I’ve benefitted from some very good training. I became interested in becoming a trainer myself predominately in customer service, sales and leadership.”I set up my own company and worked with big hotels, big venues and visitor attractions.

“Then I moved to Cricieth seven years ago, started learning Welsh and am interested in being part of this project to help people. We hear so often people saying businesses in this area don’t make the best of themselves and see what they can do and seize the opportunity.”

The third member of the team is Tansy Rogerstone from Conwy. She has spent her working life in events, hospitality and product development.

“I jumped at the chance to be part of this project because I want to be involved in something that really makes a difference. It is amazing what Wales has to offer in tourism and events and enhancing that further and offer an even more inclusive destination is imperative and will take it to a whole different level.

“With the Future Generations Act being introduced it’s very important that we follow the framework from the Welsh Government.

“I’m passionate about businesses offering the very best they can and being more inclusive and this is a new way in how we can support them,” she said.

Davina said the course is split up into different segments with the first section focussing on background and introduction.

“The why we’re doing it and hopefully opening people’s eyes to new opportunities. The second day will be broken down into vision, hearing, mobility and toilets.

“Day three is about autism, sensory and brain injury. The last day is about website, marketing, policies and solutions. There’s a lot of information,” she said.