Accessibility

 

The Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival is open to all, with free performances used as a core audience development approach to reduce financial barriers and enable broad engagement with grassroots live music. Performances take place in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Sutton Coldfield, supporting venues through increase footfall and economic activity. The festival also serves residents of retirement villages and the families of children in hospital, offering music-based activities and experiences. Wherever possible, we use venues with step-free access.

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We also believe in the importance of hyper-local programming, putting on shows within the community including in high streets, libraries and community spaces. By embedding live music in the community spaces that are already frequented by our audience, we can ensure that those who may lack the confidence or mobility to travel into town and city centres are able to participate.

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We are committed to improving the festival to make it as accessible as possible for people of all abilities. In 2027, we are planning to develop our website to ensure that those who have mobility or site issues are able to obtain all necessary festival information. Please call the office on 0121 454 7020 to discuss necessary adjustments at gigs. We will do everything possible to ensure that you can access performances with ease.

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Inclusivity

 

The festival includes certain premises in its foundations regarding gender equality as well as the involvement and participation in the different activities focussed on children and adolescents. The festival’s full-time staff are 50% female and 25% Asian, and the festival’s board of 11 includes 3 women, 1 Afro-Caribbean and 1 Asian. We partner with Genesis Radio which broadcasts to the Caribbean diaspora and Chinese Cultural Centre which issues media releases in Chinese languages.

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Policies of social inclusion involve taking music into schools and retirement homes. Many of our events are targeted towards children and many others are open to those with mobility problems.  The absence of admission charges and the policy of taking music wherever people are, whether shopping or riding on a tram, is another factor of social inclusion.

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Sustainability​

 

The festival's own trajectory, with its forty consecutive editions, guarantees its ability to sustain itself. This year, it will receive core funding from Sandwell MBC and The Musician’s Union, plus some 18 businesses supplying support in kind.

By its very design, the Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival is environmentally conscious, by presenting performances in venues and spaces that already exist rather than encouraging temporary set-ups which lead to plastic waste. Accessibility is a core tenet of the festival, with 92% of performances being within a five-minute walk of a bus, tram or train stop, reducing the need for transport by car. This is also supported by hyper-local programming. Unlike most traditional festivals, we don’t construct temporary sites could lead to increased littering or pollution in the area. ​

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If you have any suggestions as to how we can improve our accessibility, inclusivity and sustainability, please get in touch with us at admin@bigbearmusic.com or by calling on 0121 454 7020.

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