Wembley Stadium has announced that it will offer British Sign Language interpretation as a guaranteed service at every live concert from next summer - the biggest UK venue to make such a commitment.
Ed Sheeran will be the first artist to offer the service at all of his shows at the venue, when he takes his '+ - = ÷ x' tour there in June. Previously, the BSL service has only been available when pre-booked or on certain days.
"We are delighted to be able to offer British Sign Language for our customers at every concert moving forward", says Paul Smyth, Head Of Event Operations at Wembley Stadium. "We pride ourselves not only on being an inclusive stadium to be enjoyed by all, but also for leading the way in terms of best practice within the industry. We look forward to hosting our deaf customers at future gigs and hope that they feel the benefit of this vital service at Wembley Stadium".
The sign language service will be provided by Performance Interpreting, the founder of which, Marie Pascall, says: "We are elated at Wembley Stadium's decision to provide British Sign Language access for deaf BSL customers for every show. This will enable thousands of deaf customers to attend music events on any given date. Wembley continues to be a beacon of best practice and this is a huge step in the right direction. We hope other venues will value their deaf customers and appreciate access in the same way".
Watch a signed and subtitled version of the announcement here: