O2 Academy Bournemouth (5/5/2022 - Gary Numan)

 Gary Numan @ O2 Academy Bournemouth

5/5/2022

This is it. Tonight is the night I attempt going to a concert for the first time since my meltdown back in early 2020. I am very scared, as it's been over 2 years, and it'll be the first time going to an event with accessibility access. But before we get to the concert on the night, let's start at the beginning.

I was super excited to find out that Gary Numan was coming to my local town. I had seen him once before in London at the Shepherds Bush O2 Empire a few years earlier, where I managed to be right at the front of the standing crowd, back when I could handle it. When I found Gary Numan was coming to town, it seemed like the perfect time to try and get back out there again to do one of the things I loved the most, attending concerts. So I spoke to my mum about it, and she suggested contacting the O2 Academy Bournemouth to sort out an accessible ticket. We'd not done this before, so we had no clue what to do, but we spoke to a lovely lady named Becky, who to this day remembers my name and face when I attend events, which to me is crazy because I've only been about 3 or 4 times. But still she always remembers me.

Anyway, I spoke to Becky about accessibility, where she explained to me the layout of the venue, where I'd be sitting and the accessible queue upon arrival. Something to note is that the O2 Academy Bournemouth is a rather old building, built in the late 1800s (my mum loves to tell me about all the discos she'd go to in the 80s) and has no lifts. Because of this, wheelchair access is located downstairs next to the stage, whereas the other accessible seats are upstairs on the balcony in front of the stage for those who are able to go up and down stairs.

After Becky had shared this information with me, I shared with her a list of my needs that would make my experience easier. Because this is an O2 venue, I've only had to do this once, as they safely save this information and then give you a code you can use when booking tickets for events at any O2 venue. I've found this super helpful over the years, as I don't have to keep going through my needs for every event. After all this was sorted, Becky also gave me a complimentary companion ticket for my mum to attend, as she is my registered carer. You do need proof of this in order to get a free companion ticket.

Let's skip forward to 5th May 2022, the night of the concert. I will admit it took a lot to get me there that night; there was a lot of anxiety running through me, and as we approached the venue and I saw all the people, I did start to cry, so my mum and I went for a little walk away from the queue until I felt ready to return. We returned just as they started letting in the people in the accessible queue. The entrance is through quite a skinny corridor, and the general public was let in whilst we were queuing up for our companion ticket. This proved to be a little bit of a problem for me because it turned into a place with lots of people in a tight space. So to help, I turned and rested my head against the wall which was now in front of me so I didn't have to see all the people.

Once we were all sorted with our tickets, we were told to go upstairs where we would be seated. This concert was a standing-only event, so the seating was a makeshift seating area of 2 rows of 10 chairs, sectioned off so that the general public wasn't allowed in. This area was guarded by security for the whole event.

A few hours later, and the concert finishes. It's fair to say I had a fantastic time, and I was very proud of myself for doing it. But now it came time to leave, the panic started to set in again because of the large crowds of people. So we asked the security guard watching over the accessibility seating area if we could wait here for a bit until the rush had calmed down. She said that would be absolutely no problem at all, and my mum spoke to her for about 10 minutes until it had calmed down and I was ready to tackle the remaining crowd.

Outside, I was bordering on tears of happiness over how proud I was that I managed to attend a concert again, that I got to see one of my favourite artists and, most of all, how friendly everyone working at the O2 Academy Bournemouth was.

To summarize, I highly recommend the O2 Academy Bournemouth for events when it comes to accessibility for those with hidden disabilities. I've been to the O2 Academy Bournemouth multiple times since (which I will write about), and I have never had any issues, not once. Becky and her whole team made such a big impact on me and my ability to attend concerts again, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Taken by me, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire - 2018ish?