Ipswich woman ‘shut out’ of Download by lack of accessibility

A disabled woman who spent around £1,200 to attend the Download music festival had to leave three hours after arriving because the accessible camping area was full.

Frances Simmonds-Mead bought tickets for herself and partner Oliver Marchant in November last year, and said she had been looking forward to ‘the biggest thing we’ve done in half a decade’.

But after travelling for 12 hours from Ipswich in Suffolk to the festival site in Donington Park, Leicestershire – a drive made four times longer by traffic – they were astonished to be turned away.

Full-time wheelchair user Frances said: ‘I felt so defeated, I just cried. They said there was nowhere I could sleep.

‘We had really been looking forward to it, and invested financially, practically and emotionally.’

Frances, 24, has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which causes her hips to dislocate when she stands. Oliver, 26, is her carer.

Given a list of accessibility requirements by organisers, the pair had opted for accessible toilets, viewing platform access, wheelchair charging, road access to campsite, and changing facilities.

When they booked their spot, they were allocated campsite A, which is reserved for people with the highest level of access need.

But upon her arrival, she found campers crammed together, guy ropes overlapping between tents, and wheelchairs and mobility scooters vying for space amid cars on the surrounding track.

She said: ‘We were just allowed straight through – no one checked we were meant to be there.

‘We weren’t asked for any paperwork, even though we were told to print off loads of documents that we’d need to show to come into the accessible campsite.

‘As soon as I saw the site I knew it wasn’t what we had been told to expect: there were tents and people everywhere.

‘It was a huge fire risk. People were just sat there crying.’

Frances said she only saw around 30 charging points for ‘thousands’ of wheelchairs, which ‘really need an overnight charge’.

She added: ‘I was so, so sad to go home. I couldn’t even play my music because I was so upset about not being able to see my favourite bands at the festival.’

Since returning, she said she has seen other disabled people post online about their terrible experiences at the event.

Frances said: ‘It feels like a huge loss of dignity, and I still didn’t get what I needed: it was heartbreaking.

‘Download has a good reputation for accessibility and is advertised as this community for people who feel othered, or like they don’t belong, but I felt completely shut out.’

Live Nation, which owns and operates Download, confirmed it had received complaints and said it was working with festivalgoers.

A spokesperson said: ‘Download Festival received complaints from customers regarding access on site.

‘We take these matters very seriously and the relevant teams are working to resolve these with customers.

‘We are not at liberty to discuss individual cases.’