The Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel is a familiar venue for Eastercons, being the site for Conversation (2023), and before that in 2017 and 2011. We have drawn on the work prepared for those previous conventions, updated for 2026. We thank past Eastercons for working on making the convention as accessible as possible for as many people as possible.
As has become usual practice for Eastercons, we undertook an access audit of the hotel and immediate surroundings. This was published on the website prior to the convention.
An interactive map of the venue will be provided online that includes access notes. It will be tested for accessibility across as many types of devices as possible.
In Person Panel/Talks/Programme Rooms
The majority of programme items are scheduled to run for an hour with half an hour between each to allow for movement between programme rooms.
Each programme room with theatre-style seating will have at least one wheelchair or mobility scooter space marked. There will be space available for a mobility scooter to manoeuvre.
All programme rooms with audience seating will be fitted with an appropriate sound re-enforcement system so that anyone in any seat should be able to hear the talk or discussion at a comfortable level without interference or distortion.
All panellists, moderators, and speakers are encouraged to use good microphone technique. All rooms used for talks and panel discussions will be provisioned with an appropriate number of radio microphones for question and answer time. Speakers and moderators, please repeat questions asked by audience members because this helps lip readers.
All the larger programme rooms (Pavilion, Balmoral and Sandringham) will be fitted with stages to improve visibility.
We recognise that not all conditions are visible and trust our attendees to make space for people who need it. If someone needs to be in the front row or near the back of programme rooms and you do not, please move if asked. (See also the section on Invisible Conditions.)
Hotel
The convention hotel has a page at AccessAble.
If you are staying at the convention hotel during the event and have any questions or concerns about the accessibility of hotel rooms, we ask that you contact the hotel directly.
Maps and signage will be used at the venue to aid navigation. These will be available online as well.
There are two corridors that run the length of the hotel that link programme rooms and social spaces. One of these corridors has steps that are partially ramped, and the other is flat. Both take about the same length of time to travel and will be marked on the interactive map. For step-free access to the Balmoral and Sandringham programme rooms, please use the corridor to the right past the hotel reception/concierge desk/Lift A.
Signage will aim to be clearly legible, considering font size/type and background colour contrasts.
Allergies and Food
We are not planning to provide food directly.
We do not intend to introduce known allergens to the venue without being clear to our attendees. If you have an allergy (food or otherwise), or dietary requirement such as dairy and gluten-free, or are vegan or vegetarian, and would like this information passed on to party hosts, launch organisers or to the hotel, we are happy to do this. Please let us know on the registration form or by emailing the access team. If the allergy or dietary requirement relates to your hotel bedroom or included breakfast rather than the function rooms, we ask that you contact the hotel directly.
Please do not bring nuts into programme spaces or into the convention-only social spaces (your own room is fine). Be aware that nut allergy is one of the most serious allergies and if you have been eating nuts, make sure you have washed your hands and face afterwards (in the most extreme cases, even this level of contact can cause a reaction).
The hotel accommodates food allergies that are included in the 14 allergens that are required to be declared as allergens by food law. These include: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as barley and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).
Mobility Scooters
We will have mobility scooters available for members who have pre-booked via the registration form or by emailing the access team.
Format of Publications
We aim to ensure that publications, particularly programme information, is available online in a variety of formats.
Large print paper publications may be available at the convention, particularly for programme information, but it is likely to be impractical for the souvenir guide to be available in other formats. Please let us know if you would like this via the registration form or by emailing the access team.
In Person Social Spaces
We have seats in all social spaces and space for mobility scooters and wheelchairs to manoeuvre where possible.
We aim to have a visible way of indicating that you do not like being approached and that you do not wish to be engaged in conversation by people you don’t know. This may be a sticker, badge, information card, or lanyard.
We aim to provide pronoun stickers, which are optional for members to use.
We will have a “New to Eastercon” meet-up (everyone welcome) to ensure those who are feeling nervous or want to ask questions have an informal opportunity to do so and to facilitate meeting new people.
Quiet Room
We will aim to provide a Quiet Room at the venue to allow you to take a break from the convention and quietly reenergise yourself with minimal distractions.
Scent
We ask all of our attendees to refrain from applying scented products while in the convention spaces, including in the toilets. It is fine to wear scented products, but please apply them in your own hotel room or outside.
Toilets
We do not police who uses which toilets and we expect our attendees not to do so either (refer to the Code of Conduct). We expect people to use the toilet that makes them comfortable and respect others’ need for privacy.
We aim to have at least one toilet that is designated gender neutral (in addition to accessible toilets), but this is dependent on the hotel allowing this.
We also understand that young children or others who need assistance will need to be in the same facility as the person assisting them.
Invisible Conditions
We recognise that not all conditions are visible and trust our attendees to make their needs known without having to disclose medical information or ‘proof’. This means that we will not use a visible badge or sticker to indicate access needs; however, we are happy to provide a card that allows this to be communicated without verbal explanation. You can also use the cards from previous Eastercons or similar events that convey the necessary information. Use of this card is entirely optional. Attendees may choose to use the sunflower lanyard as an alternative.
Childcare
We will be providing professional childcare facilities for members who have pre-booked via the registration form or by emailing the access team.
We will have child/family friendly programme items.
We recognise that breast-feeding a baby is a normal activity and does not need to be hidden away.
Alcohol
We will ask that any time alcohol or food is available there should be a soft drink option as well. This will apply to parties and launches.
Online Access
We will have a hybrid programme which allows virtual attendance. This facilitates international access as well.
Live and recorded online programme items will have captions/subtitles unless there is a technical issue that prevents it.
We aim to use software that is likely to be familiar to many attendees. Also to give people an opportunity to use software that they might be unfamiliar with prior to the event.
We intend to provide written instructions and ideally a video demonstration of how to access virtual programming.
We aim to have more than one way of accessing tech support, in case attendees are not able to access a particular platform.
We intend to record online content, where appropriate, to allow this to be viewed later. We will ensure that attendees at the hotel know which rooms/programme items are being recorded.
We intend to provide a social space online in addition to a formal programme. This would not be recorded.
Our Code of Conduct applies to online spaces and direct messaging as well as in physical places.
Finances
We have a bursary for people who would struggle with the financial cost of attending as well as a low-income membership rate. We will specifically invite applications from underrepresented groups. The details and restrictions of this are covered on the Bursary page.
We also have a low-income membership rate.
Covid, Con-Crud, and Other Diseases
Please refer to the Disease Mitigation Policy.
We will monitor the indoor air quality in parts of the convention to mitigate infection transmission and poor ventilation.
General
If you need anything else that we have not mentioned here please do contact us and let us know. Email: access@eastercon2026.org before the convention starts.