World Village is an accessible urban festival open to everyone. We aim to ensure that we communicate in an accessible and understandable manner, and improve the accessibility of the festival every year.
Accessibility of the festival site
The festival has moved to a new site – the Suvilahti event venue in Helsinki. Ground in the new venue is mostly concrete or hard sand, which makes moving around the festival with a wheelchair easier, even in the case of rain.
By wheelchair taxi or with your own car it is best to arrive from Redi’s side, address Kaasutehtaankatu 1, 00540 Helsinki.
You can enjoy the shows on the main stage from the wheelchair podium. The podium fits four wheelchairs and is open to assistants. Exhibitor tents will be equipped with ramps and the Market of Possibilities is located inside Kattilahalli, which is also easily accessible with a wheelchair.
The Kid’s Corner and Street Art Area all have some grass, but accessibility to these areas is also guaranteed with pathways made of rubber carpeting.
The Kid’s Corner has tents for workshops which are not stroller accessible due to fire safety regulations. Strollers can be left outside of the tents. Tents are open to visitors using a wheelchair, and security personnel will be happy to assist anyone who might need help. Any potential shows that will be organized in the Kid’s Corner will be done outside, so these are easily accessible for everyone.
The new festival site will also feature more accessible restroom facilities. Accessible indoor restrooms are located in restaurant Peloton, the Speaker’s Stage in Tiivistämö, and the Market of Possibilities in Kattilahalli. There will be a minimum of four accessible portable toilets and their location will be clearly marked on the festival map. The accessible restroom located in the Kid’s Corner will also have a changing table available.
The festival has places to sit around the area, especially around the food tents and Music Stage, as well as indoors in Speaker’s Stage and Lämpiö.
Service dogs are welcome at the festival site. Just keep in mind that the noise and large masses of people might not be suitable for animals.
Check out the festival map with all information related to accessibility.
Indoor stages
All the indoor spaces of the festival are wheelchair accessible. The entrances are either accessible as they are, or a ramp will be installed to ensure accessibility.
The Speaker’s Stage uses an induction loop / hearing loop amplifier that transfers the sound from the microphone past the background noise to a hearing aid or hearing implant. The seating area has plenty of room for wheelchairs, and security personnel are happy to assist as needed.
Nearly all of the Speaker’s Stage programme will be streamed live on the festival’s website during the event. A part of the programme will be published on festival’s YouTube chanel with subtitles after the festival.
Festival communications
The festival has attempted to take visual impairments into account as efficiently as possible. The font and contrast of the text on the festival website is quite large, and the information is also readable with a reading device. You can read more about the accessibility of our website from the accessibility statement.
The festival signage, maps and other symbols will also be made as clear as possible through font and contrast selections. We aim to use clear communications in Finnish and English on the festival website and the festival area.
If you notice any issues with the accessibility of the festival, please reach out to the Communications Manager or Production Manager of the festival. Our goal is to ensure that the festival is an accessible and pleasant experience for everyone, and we welcome any suggestions on how we can improve accessibility and overall experience for all festival visitors.
