Accessibilty
Entering a new era for accessibility in Europe
Max Steventon writes that although accessibility is now law, the real work for event organisers working with the EU starts here
he European Accessibility
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Act is no longer a date in the diary. As of 28 June, 2025, the EU legislation is now in effect. And for event organisers across Europe, that marks a significant shift in how digital services must be delivered and maintained.
The Act introduces binding legal requirements for digital accessibility across all EU member states. It applies to any business providing digital services such as ticketing, registration platforms, mobile apps, and event websites to audiences within the European Union. This includes organisers based outside the EU who still market to or serve EU attendees. In practice, that captures much of the UK industry despite its departure from the EU and its regulations.
While the EU law is now live, businesses are being given a transition period. Any new websites or digital tools released after 28 June must comply immediately. For services that were already on the market before that date, there is a five-year grace period, giving organisers until June 2030 to bring everything up to standard.
According to Jon Benjamin, CEO of ASP, a leading UK-based provider of digital platforms for the events
industry, the EU Act signals more than just a legal obligation.
“ This is not just a box ticking exercise,” Benjamin says,“ it is about giving every person the same access to the experiences we put online. Whether that is registering for an event, reading show updates, or navigating a mobile app, this is about inclusion in every part of the user journey.”
ASP is one company that began preparing for this shift well before the deadline and had already completed extensive accessibility audits across its platform and made
Left: Jon Benjamin ongoing improvements to align with WCAG 2.2 – the globally recognised Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. But even the most compliant system cannot guarantee an accessible experience if organisers themselves are not also aligned.
“ We are doing our part with the tools,” Benjamin explains.“ But a lot of the responsibility lies with the organisers themselves. Things like using proper image descriptions, uploading transcripts for video, checking document formats and using correct heading structures – those choices are in their hands.”
Practical implications Jade Durkin, ASP’ s accessibility and usability lead, said that many clients are only now starting to grasp the practical implications of the legislation.
“ People often think accessibility just means adding alt text or fixing colour contrast,” Durkin said.“ But it is also about flow, clarity, and logical structure. A website that looks good to the eye might be completely inaccessible to someone using a screen reader if it has not been built correctly.”
That point becomes more pressing when considering that over 100m people in the EU live with a disability, according to recent statistics. In the UK, that number is over 16m. With such large proportions of the population potentially excluded by poor digital design, the issue becomes as much about reach and relevance as it is about rights.
“ Accessibility is not only the right thing to do morally and legally,” Benjamin adds.“ It is also good business. You are potentially excluding a quarter of your audience if you do not get this right.”
Durkin points out that accessibility improvements often benefit a wider group than many realise.
“ It is not just about users with permanent disabilities,” she says.“ People with temporary impairments, people using mobile devices in difficult
26 Issue 4 2025 www. exhibitionworld. co. uk