The Festival Site
WOMADelaide is situated in Adelaide's Botanic Park, and the terrain consists of a combination of mostly flat grass, paved areas and gravel. During peak traffic periods, and especially after rain, parts of Botanic Park can become more difficult to negotiate. People who use wheelchairs and/or motorised wheelchairs are advised to use a wheelchair with large wheels for further stability.
We are continually striving to improve access to WOMADelaide and enhance the experience of our patrons with disability. Please contact us if you require any information or advice further to the below.
Parking + Drop-Off
An accessible parking and drop-off zone is located next to the Hackney Road entrance, immediately to the South of Plane Tree Drive on Hackney Road. Accessible parking and drop-off will also be reserved outside the Frome Road entrance, between the Zoo and Victoria Drive on the eastern side of Frome Road.
Mobility Scooters
Given that areas of the festival site are uneven and the pathways between stages can become very crowded, for reasons of public safety we need to carefully manage the numbers of mobility scooters admitted to ensure that they are required for patrons with severely reduced mobility. Direct application for a permit should be made to the Box Office Manager by 5pm Thursday 3 March. Please email bec@womadelaide.com.au. Enquiries after this date should be directed to the onsite Box onsite.
Seating
Accessible seating is provided in front of the Foundation Stage, Stage 2 and Stage 3, in addition to "Take a Rest" seating banks at Foundation Stage and Stage 2 in consideration of our diverse and multi-generational audience.
Assistance Animals
Only the following Assistance animals are allowed onto the Festival site:
- Guide Dogs - trained to help blind or visually-impaired people
- Hearing Dogs - trained to help deaf or hearing-impaired people
- Mobility Support Animals - trained to help people with physical disabilities who use wheelchairs or have difficulty moving
- Medical Alert Animals - trained to assist their handlers before and during a medical emergency
- Psychiatric service animals - trained to provide support to people with psychiatric disabilities.
To help us support you and your Assistant animal onsite, you must submit an Application and Registration Form. Note that we require a copy of the document showing your Proof of Assistance Animal Training or Public Access Test Pass. Please download the form HERE and return to bec@womadelaide.com.au.
Toilets
Accessible toilet facilities are installed where possible along the sealed surface cycleway which runs around the perimeter of Botanic Park, with privacy screening and clear marking to encourage use only by patrons who require accessible facilities. Please see the festival map for specific locations.
Companion Cards
WOMADelaide is a participant of the National Companion Card scheme, offering disabled patrons holding a current companion card a second ticket for their accompanying companion at no charge.
When you arrive at the Festival Box Office present your National Companion card, our staff will then allocate a corresponding complimentary pass. There is a limit of one companion pass issued on a daily basis. When attending the Festival for multiple days and retaining the same companion, a 3 or 4 Day pass will be issued to your companion. For further information please visit www.companioncard.gov.au/.
Multilingual Audio Description
Speak My Language has generously helped us create some resources to help describe WOMADelaide and provide general and accessibilty information in a number of different languages. Listen to "The Magic of WOMADelaide" podcast in:
- 🔈 ITALIAN (view transcript)
- 🔈 ARABIC
- 🔈 FRENCH (view transcript)
- 🔈 MANDARIN (view transcript)
- 🔈 SPANISH (view transcript)
There are further useful podcasts regarding public transport available in Mandarin HERE and Spanish HERE.
The Speak My Language (Disability) program involves people with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and Indigenous communities, and other guest speakers, sharing stories, advice and resources to support living well with a disability. Interviews will be available in 25 languages and are free to stream.