The OVO Hydro

Visited the hydro to see Disney on ice. We booked via ticket master and had no issue accessing one wheelchair space and one carer, using our nimbus card and ADP as evidence. We have been told this now saves on system and won’t need evidence again. We were sent a link to accessible venue info which was really helpful Car parking was right next to venue and stewards on hand to help with everything. Lifts were easily accessible. We have a large wheelchair and no issues at all. One set wasn’t working but there were plenty options. On arrival we went through the accessible entrance and this was great. Staff were really friendly and understanding of extra bag for medical supplies. We did have to wait quite a long time for the one lift up to second floor but the accessible seating area on level two was great plenty space for wheelchairs and and excellent view. Stewards were really really helpful. Disabled toilet outside of the accessible area isn’t easy to get into with a wheelchair but a changing places toilet is available in a different part of the building. Over all we found the whole experience really accessible, much more than we expected. It’s so hard to get wheelchair spaces as they get booked so quickly but if you can then the experience itself is great

I had the most amazing night seeing Fall Out Boy at the OVO Hydro in October, but, once again, being disabled made, what is a straightforward process for most people, incredibly stressful and difficult. My daughter tried to purchase accessible tickets for Fall Out Boy with her artist pre presale code, but Ticketmaster only sell them in 2's or 4's, so we had to phone the Hydro accessible tickets line to purchase 3! The Hydro line was permanently engaged and by the time we got through, all accessible tickets had sold out, but were told there 'may' be more released with the general sale. The accessible line doesn't seem to be effectively manned and, once again, we couldn't get through on general sale day, so as Ticketmaster don't allow accessible ticket orders in anything other than 2's and 4's, we decided to purchase three standing tickets, in the hope that we could stay right at the side, so my scooter was out of the way. Unfortunately, Hydro team said my scooter wouldn't be allowed anywhere other than the accessible seats and that we should try and swap them for accessible tickets, otherwise I couldn't go. We contacted Ticketmaster to swap them and were told it wasn't possible, but when my daughter pointed out this was all because they didn't allow us to book 3 accessible tickets online, they asked for an email to be sent and finally, three weeks later, we had the confirmation we had accessible tickets. Even then, we weren't 100% confident all would be well on the night! Also, from the looks of it, there's only about 100 accessible seating tickets out of 14,300 tickets, which really isn't a fair balance. Lastly, Ticketmaster didn't let us know there was an outstanding balance to pay and they were holding our tickets until it was settled. It was only when friends received their tickets that we contacted Ticketmaster to find out where our tickets were. Honestly, why do they have to make to so stressful and difficult? The accessible booking system really lets the venue down, as the Hydro staff on the night were amazing and very helpful, even coping with me having a panic meltdown when they wanted to empty my sealed water bottles into cups (I can't carry cups). By the time we got inside, my anxiety was through the roof. The accessible entrance we were directed to was at the other end of building to where our seats were, and negotiating an excited, busy crowd at everyone's waist level is incredible daunting, even if Fall Out Boy fans are clearly good people and were keen to help where they could! It was great to see so many people with different accessiblity needs there, from sensory to physical, and it just shows how much has been done to improve facilities, but there's still room for improvement, especially when it comes to booking. Fall Out Boy were incredible though, and I had an amazing night making some fantastic memories with my daughters, even if I did have a few extra grey hairs from it all!

Went to Luke Combes concert with son. Parked in nearby multi storey car park and accessed venue via covered walkway. Getting in and to our seats was very easy - although there was a bit of a steepish gradient to the seated area. Terrific view of the stage and importantly I felt safe throughout.