Representatives for Wembley Stadium have announced that every live concert at the stadium will now offer sign language starting from June 2022. The London music and sports stadium announced yesterday (October 19) that it will become the UK’s biggest venue to offer British Sign Language (BSL) as a guaranteed service at every live concert.

This was a service that was previously only available on certain days or if pre-booked, the newly announced scheme will now guarantee the availability of BSL interpretation which will be provided by Performance Interpreting Ltd and is a significant enhancement in the provision for Deaf consumers. They even accompanied the news with a signed and subtitled video announcement which you can view below.

The service will officially begin in the aforementioned month when singer Ed Sheeran will bring his ‘+ – = ÷ x’ tour to London in June 2022, and continue thereafter for all following touring acts performing at the stadium.

On a statement on the official Wembley Stadium website Paul Smyth, head of event operations at Wembley Stadium, said. “We are delighted to be able to offer British Sign Language for our customers at every concert moving forward. 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 practices within the industry”. 

He then continued “I’d particularly like to thank our customer engagement manager and disability liaison officer Matt Owen and our partners at Performance Interpreting for working together to bring this ground-breaking service to our venue. 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.”

Marie Pascall, the founder of Performance Interpreting Ltd, also added: “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.”

The legendary rock band have taken to their Instagram to announce the news to fans.

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A post shared by Manic Street Preachers (@manics)

The broadcasting conglobate have planned a series of concerts for this year featuring various artists, the iconic welsh band are the third act announced to perform. Due to the limited sized audience available at the concert, from 11th September 2021, the performance will be available to view on BBC iPlayer and on BBC Sounds. The special gig’s highlights will also be broadcasted on BBC Radio 2 the next evening from 7 pm-9 pm.

The Brit award winners will perform at Cardiff’s famed venue, St David’s Hall, home to the annual concert Welsh Proms Cardiff. James Dean Bradfield, frontman of the ‘A Design For Life’ rockers, has spoken on the importance and symbolisation of the group’s performance at St David’s Hall. “We are really excited to be playing St David’s Hall in Cardiff on August 12th for Radio 2 Live. I’ve seen bands and artists including The Waterboys, Echo and the Bunnymen, John Grant and Gary Numan perform on stage there, and myself and Nicky Wire busked outside of it in the mid 80s. Hopefully we can add to the musical memories we have experienced there.”

Head of Radio 2, Helen Thomas has also expressed the station’s excitement for the new concert series. Thomas states the purpose of the new series, Radio 2 Live, whilst confirming the other two acts included within the station’s productions. “New for 2021 and beyond, Radio 2 Live will take the spirit of our very special radio station around the UK. Manic Street Preachers delivered an incredible performance for Radio 2 Live at Hyde Park in 2018, so we’re thrilled to be bringing them to Cardiff to perform an intimate set for their fans in Wales. Listeners and viewers can watch these exclusive performances from the Manic Street Preachers, Texas and Steps on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer in September.”

Other acts included within the exciting new series are 90’s pop band Steps and Glasgow rock band Texas, the Scottish group known for their long-standing music career and multiple hit songs. Steps are set to perform in Manchester on 10th August 2021, famed for their ‘5,6,7,8’ hit, the group have released the following statement expressing their excitement and stating what ticket-holders can expect from their performance. “We are beyond excited to be performing for Radio 2 Live in Manchester. It will be our first live performance in front of an audience in over three years and we cannot wait. It’ll be a great chance to play some of our latest singles and Steps classics and get warmed up ahead of our UK arena tour this November.”

BBC radio presenter Zoe Ball announced via her breakfast show the date and venue for Texas’ performance in partnership with BBC’s concert series, Radio 2 Live. Texas is confirmed to perform at St Luke’s on 4th August 2021, located within the band’s hometown. The front-woman of Texas, Sharleen Spiteri, has conveyed her thoughts concerning the group’s hometown show. “I’m always excited to play in Glasgow, our hometown! And I’m thrilled to be performing for the first time at St. Luke’s for Radio 2 Live.”

The head of Music for Radio 2, Jeff Smith, has provided the following statement concerning the new concert series’ mission statement whilst expressing his joy to be organising live performances once again. “Radio 2 is committed to bringing live music performance to its listeners as we know how much they love to listen and watch their favourite artists perform the songs they adore. Over the past year, Radio 2 House Music has done a brilliant job with performances from Joan Armatrading, Kelly Clarkson, Rag’n’Bone Man and many more, but now it’s time to get back to live performance in front of an audience. Radio 2 Live is going to feature incredible sets from major artists, in front of what I’m sure will be a very excited audience of Radio 2 listeners.”

In order to attend the event, fans are invited to register by the BBC’s website, the lucky ticket holders will then be chosen via a ballot. Click here to register and be in the running to see Manic Street Preachers, Steps and Texas live.

The story came from Billboard Magazine, who said the company wanted to use smartphones to verify fans were COVID free. This comes following news that drug company Pfizer had announced that it had developed a coronavirus vaccine which, in preliminary tests, was 90% effective.

Exclusive: How Ticketmaster plans to check your vaccine status for concerts https://t.co/A0wEC1uxbO

— billboard (@billboard) November 11, 2020

Ticketmaster have clarified in a statement to the BBC that they “are not forcing anyone to do anything” and the plan they had discussed with Billboard was just an idea they were exploring in order to bring live music back to it’s full capacity in the near future, after the music industry was basically destroyed by the ongoing global health crisis.

In a statement Ticketmaster have said; “Ticketmaster does not have the power to set policies around safety/entry requirements, which would include vaccines and/or testing protocols. That is up to the discretion of the event organiser. Ticketmaster continues to work with event organisers on all Covid safety measures and it will be up to each event organiser to set future requirements, based on their preferences and local health guidelines.”

According to the Billboard article Ticketmaster’s plan which would involve their own ticket app, third party health information firms and vaccine distribution providers. After purchasing a ticket, fans would need to verify they had been vaccinated or had tested negative for coronavirus 24 to 72 hours before a concert or sporting event. Test results would be delivered to a health pass company, such as CLEAR or IBM, at fans’ request, who would pass the information to Ticketmaster. If they are negative or vaccinated, Ticketmaster would issue digital tickets via their app, if positive, a fan would not be allowed access. 

There was a mixed reaction to these claims. Some people welcomed the plan as it meant they would be allowed to get back into the world quicker and back to live music. Others felt that this was an invasion of privacy and that Ticketmaster shouldn’t have access to your medical records. It is important to note that in this plan, Ticketmaster would not have access to medical records and would only receive verifications of whether a fan could attend an event or not.

People took to Twitter to share their opinions, US political commentator, Liz Wheeler said; “This is so creepy to require people to show proof of COVID vaccine. You shouldn’t have to reveal private health info in order to participate in society.” On the other hand, another person said; “I saw a tweet yesterday that said “Ticketmaster are gonna require a negative covid test or vaccine proof for concerts” and I was like THAT IS FINE JUST BRING THEM BACK. I miss seeing my friends and losing it together over our faves.”

Am I the only person that doesn’t have an issue with Ticketmaster requesting a COVID test or a vaccine? They’re not telling anybody to do anything, it’s completely your choice. I for one would like to enjoy concerts again and feel safe rather than panic about being in a crowd.

— Gabby M (@LittleEin) November 12, 2020

And there it is folks…the surveillance state now owns you.https://t.co/VKcfpuRfPQ

— Pomp (@APompliano) November 11, 2020