Oslo Hackney (7/6/2024 - Luke Black)

Luke Black @ Oslo Hackney

7/6/2024

First off, I need to start by saying that this one is going to be kind of hard to write; I've been dreading it, but it needs to be done so that people are made aware. To this day, unfortunately, Oslo in Hackney in London has been the worst experience I've had when it comes to accessibility. Usually when I have a small issue, I eventually let it go and get over it. But this time I ended up writing to the venue to let them know about the bad experience I had.

Booking the ticket was easy enough; I just bought a regular ticket and then contacted the ticket provider, as stated on Oslo Hackney's website about accessibility requirements. I'm not a big fan of sorting out accessibility requirements with the ticket company over the venue because there are questions that can't be answered or are answered wrong, as you're about to find out, and then there is always the chance that your information doesn't get passed over to the venue. For this event I spoke to the people at Alttickets to arrange accessibility, where they said the venue had a "safe space" for seating because whenever I book accessibility, I always make sure to ask if the seating is away from the general standing area, as it can get overwhelming when you're sat down and people are standing up towering around you, as we learnt that time at the O2 Academy Islington. After providing the people at Alttickets with my ticket number and details, I received an email saying, "I have popped you on the early entry and seating list." I was also told to arrive 15 minutes early and to see door staff so they could help me further on the night, which I did.

It's the night of the concert, and I arrive at Oslo Hackney 15 minutes early as requested, and I speak to the man on the door who tells me to go inside and speak to a member of staff inside. An important thing to note about Oslo Hackney is that it's a bar, and then the concert venue is upstairs, accessed by the stairs inside the bar venue. So I went to a member of the bar staff to let them know my name and that I was on the accessibility list for the concert. The member of staff let me know that the door opening time for the concert had been pushed back by 15 minutes, so I should take a seat and that someone would come and get me when they were ready to open the doors. So I waited patiently at a table in front of the bar so it would be easy for them to find me when it was time to go in.

It reaches the new time for letting people in, and I notice the doors have opened, and they're letting people upstairs to the concert venue. So not only did I not have early entry as stated by the ticketing company; on top of that, no one ever came to get me. After the queue to enter had gone and everyone had gone in, I went to the entrance to tell them I was on the accessibility list and needed a seat. That person then had to contact someone else to find me a seat. It was very clear from this that the member of bar staff I spoke to had not made the staff working the concert entry aware of my needs or that fact I was even there. Once I was in and they found me a chair, they placed it down towards the edge of the room, where I was told I wasn't allowed to move it from where it was, which turned out to be the biggest problem of the night. The following picture says it all!

The "safe space" I was told I'd be sitting in..., Oslo Hackney - 2024

Now, it does say on the Oslo Hackney website that "good lines of sight to the stage cannot be guaranteed", which I accept and understand, as it's a small venue with a capacity of about 300, and accessibility at smaller venues can be more difficult. But for one, this is definitely not a "safe space", as there were people crowding in front and to the left of me, and I also refuse to believe that this is the best seating position they could've put me in. I've since been in contact with the venue, where they said, "We do usually situate chairs to the side of the stage, so we're unsure what went wrong in this case." So maybe if my chair had been placed in the correct area, things would've been better, and perhaps they would've been if I had been let in early like I should've, that way, the member of staff escorting me would've had the whole room to work with, rather than just places that people weren't already standing in. Unfortunately I cried during this concert, which is not something you should be experiencing when you're out somewhere where you should be having fun and enjoying yourself.

I will say it wasn't all bad, as I got to meet Luke Black after the concert, and that did cheer me up immensely.

The following day I wrote an email to the venue describing the issues faced and even gave them some suggestions. To be fair, they were very apologetic and offered me guest list access to an upcoming event by way of an apology. I didn't go, but I really should've done to see if they had improved at all.

Overall, I do not recommend attending any events at Oslo Hackney. The door, bar and events venue staff did not communicate my needs to each other, which led to me being let in late, which probably caused the domino effect of me being seated in the wrong place.

Oslo Hackney is a venue I definitely feel like I need to return to in the future to see if there have been any improvements made.

Me with Luke Black, Oslo Hackney - 2024