Access
We welcome everyone to the Southbank Centre and want our buildings and spaces to be available to all.
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All of our performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are our ticket offices and toilets, as well as our cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
On occasion there may be short queues to enter our buildings, events and exhibitions. If you are not able to queue or need further assistance, our Visitor Assistants are here to help you.
Join our Access Scheme
If you have specific seating requirements you may be eligible for concessionary tickets – with a complimentary seat for your companion.
Useful access information
Find out how we’re making our buildings and events more accessible.
We often produce audio guides and audio descriptions of some of our events and key festivals. This includes audio versions of our Art by Post booklets, and a recording of our monthly listings.
These can be found on our Soundcloud page.
Royal Festival Hall
For level access to the Royal Festival Hall from the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road off Belvedere Road, please use the Southbank Centre Square Doors, which face the Hayward Gallery. The JCB Glass Lift is situated at this entrance and will take you to all floors.
You can also use the external lift near the Artists’ Entrance on Southbank Centre Square to reach Mandela Walk, Level 2.
Queen Elizabeth Hall & Purcell Room
For access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating (excluding rows A to C) and wheelchair spaces in the Rear Stalls, plus Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer and the Purcell Room, please enter the Royal Festival Hall via the route given above. From Royal Festival Hall, Level 2, exit to the Riverside Terrace and turn right to find the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance.
For access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating rows A to C and wheelchair spaces in the Front Stalls, please enter via the Artists’ Entrance, which is on the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road (Level 1).
For lift access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden please use the Roof Garden Lift on the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road (Level 1).
Hayward Gallery
For step-free access to the Hayward Gallery from the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road, please use the car park lift.
We are making more and more events accessible to a wider audience through a range of assisted formats: British Sign Language interpretation, Speech-to-Text transcription, Audio Description, Captioning and pre-event Touch Tours.
We are also introducing more Relaxed Performances and Sensory Adapted Performances, suitable particularly for people with autistic spectrum conditions, sensory and communication disorders and learning disabilities. They take a more casual approach to event etiquette and ask people to be aware of their fellow audience members who may need to move more or make involuntary noises.
The Southbank Centre is committed to offering access to performance services such as British Sign Language interpreters, captioning, audio description and relaxed performances. We are working very hard with event promoters to provide these services if required. For some events we have programmed in assisted performances.
We aim to provide access upon request to our visitors who require an accessible provision to be put in place for them to be able to attend a performance, but this will be subject to the request being made within a reasonable timeframe (minimum six weeks before the event date), financial resource, and approval from the events promoter. Please contact us if you require this service and we’ll do all we reasonably can to help. We aim to make hearing enhancement available at all live performances.
Blue Badge holders and those with access requirements can be dropped off on the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road off Belvedere Road (the road between the Royal Festival Hall and the Hayward Gallery).
There are four Blue Badge parking spaces available for visitors located on the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road. Spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and use of them is free. You will need to display your Blue Badge as you enter the site. Vehicles that do not display a Blue Badge are refused entry.
Alternative parking is available nearby at the National Theatre car park (330 metres) and APCOA Cornwall Road Car Park (490 metres).
View a map of disabled parking locations
Blue Badge parking at the National Theatre
Alternative parking for Blue Badge holders visiting the Southbank Centre can be found at the National Theatre car park (330 metres). If you are visiting the Hayward Gallery, just take your badge and car park ticket to the Ticket Desk in the Gallery foyer for validation before you leave.
Please note: when the National Theatre building is closed (on Sundays, and on days without performances) there is no step-free access from the car park. Please contact the National Theatre directly to check before travelling. Call 020 7452 3961 or email boxoffice@nationaltheatre.org.uk
Blue Badge parking at APCOA Cornwall Road
Alternative step-free parking for Blue Badge holders visiting the Southbank Centre can also be found at the APCOA Cornwall Road car park. Just take your badge and car park ticket to the parking attendant office at the entrance to the car park for validation before you leave.
A drop-off point at the Royal Festival Hall (30 metres) has been created for visitors who are unable to walk from alternative car parks.
If you would like to book a wheelchair position in the Royal Festival Hall for a large motorised wheelchair (more than 65cm wide), please book a wheelchair position in the rear stalls or side stalls. Our boxes aren’t able to accommodate larger wheelchairs due to limited space.
If you have any queries, please email hello@southbankcentre.co.uk or call 020 3879 9555.
Our buildings and venues are fully accessible. If you need any information or assistance while you’re visiting us, please speak to a member of staff, who will be happy to help you.
- Assistance is available for blind and visually impaired visitors, including guiding and narration. Phone or email our access team to find out more.
- Assistance dogs are welcome in the buildings and may be taken into our venues – please tell us when booking to ensure your seat has enough space
- There are accessible toilets on every level of the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and in the Hayward Gallery Foyer.
- Sound enhancement systems are available in all our venues. Please ask for a Ticketing Duty Manager if you require one (subject to availability).
- Strobe lighting is rarely used in performances. We will put warning signs on auditorium entry doors of any event where it is used.
- Wheelchairs are available for visitors by visiting the Artists’ Entrance when you arrive (subject to availability).
- Talk to a member of staff at the auditorium entrance if you have a disability that means you can’t queue, or you need extra time to take your seat. They can arrange priority entry for you as soon as the doors open.
Visitors with medical requirements
We welcome visitors who need to bring medicines, food or soft drinks to manage a medical condition, or medical equipment.
A Changing Places toilet is located on Level 1, Royal Festival Hall, next to the JCB Glass Lift, for the exclusive use of disabled people who need personal assistance to use the toilet.
Please visit the Welcome Desk on Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, where a member of staff can provide you with the key. You can also use the phone next to the Changing Places toilet to speak to a member of staff.
The facility includes a height-adjustable bench, tracking hoist system, a centrally-placed toilet, a height-adjustable basin and a shower.
For health and safety reasons we do not provide slings. Visitors are asked to bring their own which should be compatible with the loop system. The maximum weight for the hoist and the height adjustable bench is 200kg.
The facility is open:
Monday & Tuesday, 10am – 6pm*
Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
*On event days, the Royal Festival Hall building remains open until the end of the event.
Royal Festival Hall
Seats have a width of 44cm and a depth of 42cm. The armrests are 49cm apart and 20cm higher than the seat itself. The seat height is around 33cm from the floor.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Seats have a width of 50cm and a depth of 39cm. The armrests are 46cm apart and 18cm higher than the seat itself. The seat height is around 48cm from the floor.
Purcell Room
Seats have a width of 46cm and a depth of 39cm. The armrests are 46cm apart and 18cm higher than the seat itself. The seat height is around 46cm from the floor.
If you have any questions about the dimensions and sizing of our auditorium seating, please email us.
Accessibility Live Events Access Charter
The Southbank Centre is proud to have been awarded Platinum accessibility status by Attitude is Everything on their Live Events Access Charter, for demonstrating continued commitment to accessibility for deaf and disabled people.
Attitude is Everything assist the music industry to understand the requirements of deaf and disabled people at music venues and festivals. The ethos of the Live Events Access Charter is that deaf and disabled people should be as independent as they want to be at live music events.
More access benefits and resources
Join our Access Scheme
Get more from the Southbank Centre, including discounts, by joining our free Access Scheme.
Access events
We’re making more and more events accessible to as many people as possible. See what’s coming up.
Access maps & floor plans
Need help getting to and from Southbank Centre? Check our step-free access maps for the best routes.