With a large student population, Leeds always has a buzz of activity. Have the Academy Group been able to make enough changes to a Grade II-listed concert hall to make it accessible for the 21st Century? Read on and find out!
BOOKING
Accessible bookings are made directly with the O2 Academy box office.
You will be asked if you have an Access Card (also known as a Nimbus card) to make booking easier and avoid repeatedly providing proof of disability.
When an event you’re interested in is announced, email the box office with your name and contact details, the details of the event, and your access requirements. The venue can accommodate both ambulant and wheelchair-access customers. If you’re booking with the Academy for the first time, you will be asked to complete a booking registration form and your details added to their database. That makes it much easier when you contact them in the future to book again! You'll get a reference number that you can quote for future bookings.
You'll get a reply letting you know whether or not there is access space available. If there is availability, your tickets will be reserved for 10 days while you forward proof of disability. When that's all done, a member of the box office team will call you to confirm your requirements and you’ll pay over the phone, and you'll get an email confirmation from the box office with all of the details you need for the day of the event.
Your name will be added to the access list for the event day, and you will be given your printed ticket at the door to be scanned for entry.
Suppose tickets are not available when you try to book. In that case, your details will often be held on a reserve list, and the box office will contact you if any additional tickets are released or any existing tickets are cancelled.
LOCATION AND GETTING THERE
The O2 Academy is north of Leeds city centre, within the main ring road and just a stone’s throw away from the First Direct Arena. Leeds is well connected to the main UK road networks, including the A1, M1, and M62. The city does have a large suburban area, so there is no quick or direct drive into the city without passing through built-up areas and reduced speed limits.
Leeds railway and bus stations are only half a mile and almost a mile away, respectively - it’s not far. However, the city is on a hill, so getting from the stations to the venue is quite a push.
The railway station is served by LNER, Northern, TP Express, and Cross Country trains, which connect London, Manchester, Liverpool, the north-east and Yorkshire coast, Scotland, and beyond. The bus station hosts local services, National Express, Megabus, Arriva, and the Yorkshire Coastliner.
Several bus routes cover the Leeds area; most vehicles are fully accessible. There is also a Leeds park-and-ride service. Like many P&R services in the north of England, the travel prices are very reasonable, but the services don’t run late to get you back to your car after a show.
There are several hotel options around the railway station and other popular tourist areas. Other options are across the city and dotted around the Arena area. If you prefer to stay outside the city, there are budget options, including Premier Inn and Travelodge, which are just a short drive away. These options are closer to the main road links, and the prices are usually lower than in the city.
If you are driving into the city, there are many parking options depending on where you want to park and for how long. There are lots of accessible bays dotted around the city, but they have time limits. Most are 4 hours with no return within an hour. The best accessible option near the O2 Academy I’ve found is around the back of the First Direct Arena. There are nine bays; each bay is limited to 6 hours with no return within an hour. It’s only a 5-minute walk or roll down to the Academy. The only issue with these bays is that they are only available if there is no event at the Arena. If it’s an arena event day, staff from the arena will check your event ticket and take your contact details if you are parking there, and the 6-hour limit still applies.
There are also many on-street pay-and-display bays around the city. As with most councils, parking is free and unlimited with your blue badge. Some streets behind the Academy get very busy, as the Leeds General Infirmary, with a Major Trauma Centre, is nearby.
I will warn you that if you are driving in, there are many one-way streets and bus lanes, so you need your wits about you!
There are some pay-and-display bays on Cookridge Street, just near the Academy, plus several accessible bays with a 4-hour parking limit on Portland Crescent and Portland Gate, around the sides of the building. Portland Crescent also has pay-and-display bays.
And, if you’re heading to the Academy from further afield, Leeds Bradford airport is a half-hour drive away or just under an hour by public transport.
GETTING IN
As you approach the Academy on Cookridge Street, you will see its picturesque façade and an efficient queueing system. At the corner of the building where Cookridge Street meets Portland Gate, there’s a set of black doors, the accessible entrance, with a metal railing around. Make your way here and join the queue. Staff will be on hand to ensure you’re in the correct queue.
There is a glass canopy to protect you from the rain if the weather is bad.
Further up Cookridge Street are additional black doors, with the Academy’s illuminated display showing the upcoming events. This is the main entrance.
The general admission and O2 Priority queues are under the canopy along the side of the building on Portland Gate.
As with most venues, you’ll get a security check, and then a member of the access team will check your name on the access list, give you your printed tickets to be scanned, and give you a wristband. As an access customer, you get a turquoise band to enter the balcony access area, and your companion will get an orange band.
Once it’s time to go in, the doors on the right-hand side of the entrance are opened for you to make your way in. The footpath is on a slight slope, but there is no step to the access door.
Inside the door, you’ll see a large staircase in front of you. The stairs lead up to the floor standing area, and additional stairs take you to the balcony. You’ll be shown around to the right to a small lift in the corner. You’ll be escorted in the lift by a staff member up to the balcony.
FACILITIES
The lift is small, controlled by staff, and locked during the show due to misuse. You don’t need to worry about which button to press; it’s all done for you.
As you leave the lift, you wheel straight out onto the balcony and into the darkness of the auditorium.
The bar is at the top of the balcony, behind the back row of seating, and can be accessed via the lift. You can also request assistance from a member of staff. For me, it was quicker and easier to send my companion up!
For some events, a selection of merchandise will be available on the balcony’s far side. However, it’s challenging to get there in a wheelchair as the gap between the front row of seating and the edge of the balcony is narrow, and if people are already sitting down, it’s very awkward.
On a previous visit, my companion was allowed, using the orange wristband, to go down the stairs into the main floor standing area to look at, photograph and buy the merchandise. This time, when I asked if she could do that again, we were told no, and that we would have to wait until the end of the show to get access downstairs. This was a new policy, but very disappointing. If an act has a limited amount of stock, you might not be able to get the size option you want or the chance to get limited edition merch. Anyway, when chatting to one of the access team members, I aired my disappointment, and she agreed to find a solution. She agreed to take us down in the lift, escort us to the merch desk and bring us back up. She did this for another couple, too. Being isolated from the merch is unfair, but I appreciate the complex lift situation. I’d have been more than happy to do like last time and send my companion down.
The lift brings you into the back corner of the floor standing area on the opposite side of the room from the merch desk. The desk didn’t have a lowered counter, but it was about shoulder height for me, so I could see and use the card reader.
The lift also plays a part when you want to use the toilet. Again, you need to ask a staff member to take you down in the lift; you can't just go yourself.
Next to the passageway that brings you onto the balcony, there is a staircase leading downwards. There are 13 (I think!) steps leading down to the toilets. The accessible toilet requires a radar key and has the basic accessibility features needed.
SEATING
Downstairs in the stalls area is a general admission standing area. There is no dedicated accessible seating.
Upstairs, on the balcony, most of the seating is unreserved, but you need a balcony ticket to access it - a general admission standing ticket doesn’t give you access.
The balcony has approximately (from a rough count!) 320 seats. There are 12 seats on the near side of the balcony, which are reserved for access customers who have requested access seating. These seats look like church pews but are fold-down seats with a wooden surround. There is limited leg room in front of the seats, and you need to shuffle past everyone else in the row to get in and out. The edge of the balcony in front has a wooden rail across the top and is easy to see over from a seated position.
The far side of the balcony has a similar seating layout, but here, there are 20 unreserved seats. The front end of the row of seating is nearer to the stage than the accessible side.
At the back of the balcony are 10 rows of unreserved seats, stepping up towards the bar. The seats are narrow, and there is little legroom between the rows.
The front row of seats has a narrow walkway in front, allowing access to the bar and toilets. Having sat in these seats in the past, I wouldn’t recommend the front row - you have people walking past you throughout the show, and you must keep your feet tucked under your seat so you don’t get stood on!
Between the accessible seating and the stage, there is a large open area that is the wheelchair area. Ropes surround the area to prevent non-access customers from standing in it and to keep the fire exit clear. The area can hold four wheelchairs and their companions. If space allows, your companion may be offered a chair.
A security staff member is always near the access area and can radio the access staff if you need any help or want to use the lift.
The edge of the balcony in front of the wheelchair area is about 30cm, maybe more, higher than it is in front of the seating. It has glass panels which are not perfectly clean and reflect the lights from the show. Why does this part of the balcony need to be higher than the front of the seating? I don’t know! You effectively watch the show through a window, which isn’t ideal. For me, in a standard-sized manual chair, my view was straight through the glass, but if you have a larger or higher electric chair, the top of the partition will quite possibly be in your eyeline of the stage. It isn’t great for standing companions either - my wife is 5’5” tall and the top of the partition is at chest height, so an awkward height to lean on.
The balcony has a capacity of 500. After the 320-ish seats, around 180 ticketholders are left to stand behind the seats on the sides of the balcony. There is nowhere to stand in the main seating areas, but I did see many people standing in the bar looking out over the seating to watch the show, which will give you a great view!
I had people standing behind me on the opposite side of the rope, but the way in and out was always clear.
GETTING BACK OUT
You don’t have to wait long to get out of the Academy - as soon as the pathway to the lift is clear, you can make your way out. The access staff will be at the lift waiting to escort you down.
The venue empties quite quickly and with there being multiple streets in a close proximity, the crowd disperses in multiple directions so it’s quite easy to get around outside.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
The staff were lovely - they were very helpful and chatty.
The placement of the wheelchair area and the accessible seating is excellent - not at the back, not tucked in a corner. You have a good view of the stage with no one standing in front of you.
It’s a shame that the glass panelling somewhat obstructs the view - why it needs to be higher than in front of the seated areas is a mystery.
Being unable to take yourself off to the bar or toilet is a negative. The staff don’t mind doing it, but if you have a condition where you need regular toilet visits, you’ll possibly start to feel a bit awkward after a while. The same with drinks, too.
The policy for buying the merchandise could use a rethink. It worked great on our previous visit when I could just send my companion down, but again, having to ask staff to escort you down feels a bit awkward.
