Access all areas

When the UK hosts the Olympics in 2012, the capital will attract thousands of visitors and tourists attending a variety of stadiums and venues and using public transport, airports, hotels and theatres. they will need access to information and use ticket machines, maps, turnstiles, elevators, bus stops, automatic doors, trains, taxis and public telephones.

A significant percentage will be elderly or will have a disability, and there is an increasing need to make appropriate special provision for them. To date, most of this relates to providing access for wheelchairs or the installation of hearing aid loops.

However, the advent of a range of new mainstream technologies offers exciting possibilities for providing new services which can greatly help blind and partially sighted visitors, those with other disabilities, or those who need assistance in other ways. It is important to remember that in most cases improving these services will also be of benefit to non-disabled visitors.