Designing Inclusive Events
Rooted in the legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Spirit of 2012 has worked to embed inclusion at the heart of the UK events sector. Over the past decade, we’ve funded projects that support disabled and non-disabled people to take part as equals.
We’ve also commissioned research to help event organisers understand how to design inclusive events and explored the wider role events can play in shifting attitudes and creating a more inclusive society. Our Theory of Change and funding strategy continue to place inclusivity at the centre—helping to shape a more equitable and representative events landscape.
To get started with our work on disability inclusion and events check out:
1Making Events Work for Everyone
A thematic report drawing together learning from our funded projects around the topic of disability inclusion and setting out advice and recommendations for how UK events can be designed and delivered to be more inclusive, as well as how they can help foster a more inclusive society.
2Playbook for Equality Diversity and Inclusion (Centre for Culture, Sport and Events)
This guide includes a four-step process that can help you to embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) from the outset if you are organising an event or festival. Developed by academics including Prof Gayle McPherson and Prof David McGillvray in collaboration with Glasgow Life, UCI Cycling World Championships 2023 and Glasgow Mela, the Playbook also includes vignettes from many other events to showcase good practice. It was adapted and rolled out by Visit Scotland as part of its training offer.
3Volunteering Together: Inclusive Volunteering and Disabled People (Kim Donahue and Associates)
This report uses Understanding Society data alongside qualitative interviews to understand the volunteering experiences of disabled people. Event organisers can use it to remove barriers to volunteering and provide a higher quality experience.
You can also check out examples of events that have spearheaded an inclusive approach:
1Birmingham 2022 Critical Mass Playbook
As part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival, Spirit of 2012 funded Critical Mass, an ambitious project to create an inclusive mass cast of disabled and non-disabled young people who would go on to perform in the Opening Ceremony and other key moments across the festival. 40% of the £1 million budget was spent on access and this playbook sets out the team’s learning from this challenging but hugely rewarding project. Find out more about the project itself here.
2Making Routes Festival (Oasis Play, Battersea Arts Centre and South London Gallery
Explore the project page for this inclusive arts festival, which includes a set of seven beautifully designed resources for delivering and evaluating inclusive festivals, created by the team behind by the project. In particular, Understanding Perceptions of Disability uses qualitative research to unpick the impact of the festival on changed perceptions – a standout report from our grant portfolio on how to evaluate an outcome that is particularly tricky to measure.
