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Manchester City Council has announced that accessibility will be their main focus of this year’s festive events in the city centre and have revealed a list of measures they have put in place to ensure that the events will be accessible to all.

Speaking to reporters, Manchester City Council’s Christmas spokesperson, said: “Manchester’s Christmas magic is for everyone, which is why making sure all our festive fun is accessible is so important to us. We want to make sure no one is excluded from any of this and that everyone can enjoy what’s on offer right across the city and not just in one location.

“That’s why we’ve redoubled our efforts this year to ensure that anyone who has additional needs can come into the city centre and just like everyone else, can enjoy what’s on offer knowing their needs will be catered for. We all know Manchester does Christmas best and we want everyone who visits us at this special time of year to enjoy themselves and have the best time ever.”

Throughout the city centre there will be accessible toilets and changing facilities, thanks to a partnership with the Cityco’s City Centre Loo Scheme, which ensures that there are disabled toilets along the route of the markets. This scheme has allowed a partnership which will give access to facilities located throughout the city centre, including at McDonalds, the Royal Exchange Theatre, Marks and Spencer, the National Football Museum, Arndale Shopping Centre, Cathedral Gardens and in the Central Library.

Additional facilities are also on offer throughout the city.  Winter Gardens will have a fully accessible toilet and changing facility, as well as a shower with a track hoist and tail lift that can be accessed via a RADAR key and the public toilets on Mount Street also have a fully accessible toilet with changing facilities.

In addition, there will be priority seating throughout the markets, the areas these are located will be marked on the official Christmas Markets’ Map and there are sign posts throughout. The area in Winter Gardens is centrally located, so even if you need to take a break, you won’t miss out on the action. As part of this focus on accessibility, this year’s market stalls are also committed to being 100% accessible, with those on an incline providing ramps. Several stalls have been designed to offer more space and nearby priority seats. The ice rink which will be installed at Cathedral Gardens is fully accessible to wheelchair users and staff have been given training so they can offer assistance to all guests. Throughout the event, there will be a number of free inclusive skating sessions, you can find more details online.

To find out more about Manchester’s Christmas events and to see full details about the accessibility, please visit www.manchester.gov.uk/christmas

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