Suzanne Bull awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List

 - MBE recognises services to Music, the Arts and Disabled People - Nomination supported by Festival Republic's Melvin Benn and Paralympic Opening Ceremony’s Bradley HemmingsAttitude is Everything’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Bull has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to music, the arts and disabled people. Suzanne was nominated due to her tireless pursuit of equality for Deaf and disabled people, and work improving the accessibility of live music venues and festival across the UK.13 years ago, Suzanne set up Attitude is Everything to challenge the music industry to improve their access to Deaf and disabled customers.  The organisation has since overseen more than 70 venues and festivals signing up to a Charter of Best Practice, thousands trained in disability equality and a huge increase in the numbers of Deaf and disabled people accessing live music events.Reflecting on the impact of her work, Suzanne said: “15 years ago it was the same two or three  people on the viewing platform, nowadays you need to be at the main stage platform by 2pm to reserve a space. The demand is there; if you build it, they will come.”Melvin Benn, Managing Director at Festival Republic, and Bradley Hemmings, Artistic Director at Greenwich + Docklands Festivals and Co-Artistic Director for the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, were just two of the many influential colleagues that supported the nomination:Said Bradley Hemmings “Suzanne has always been both a visionary and a highly practical problem solver in creating the highest possible standards of access.”Commented Melvin Benn “Suzanne has guided our staff, built strong personal relationships and is without question an expert in her field, offering accessible advice and feedback to the music industry and disabled customers alike.”Despite significant improvements in accessibility over the past 13 years, there is still plenty left to achieve, so Attitude is Everything will continue to campaign for equal access under Suzanne’s direction on behalf of Deaf and disabled people nationwide.“This is a great opportunity to get access to live music on the agenda again and to start pushing for more changes at a higher, political level, so I’m really excited for all of us. My ultimate goal is for Deaf and disabled people to be able to attend, work or perform at any event that they wish.  It’s a utopian view, I know, but this is genuinely because I don’t understand why there should be any barriers to this, attitudinal or physical: music without barriers.”Suzanne Bull MBE, Chief Executive Officer, Attitude is Everything.About Attitude is EverythingAttitude is Everything improves Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music by working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to implement a Charter of Best Practice across the UK. Having worked with live industry leaders such as AEG, Glastonbury, the O2 Arena, Mama Group, Wembley and Ticketmaster, Attitude is Everything is the UK authority on access to music venues.Their many successes to date include working with Festival Republic on all of their UK Festivals, supporting Academy Music Group and National Arena Association venues to sign to our Charter, and using the Charter of Best Practice as an event standard for all festivals taking place on Victoria Park. Attitude is Everything wrote the ISAN Access Toolkit: Making Outdoor Arts Events Accessible to All, which was awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark.About the Charter of Best PracticeAttitude is Everything help the music industry to understand the requirements of Deaf and disabled people at music venues and festivals by building equality into the strategic process. The ethos of the Charter is that Deaf and disabled people should be as independent as they want to be at live music events.Broken down into three stages, Bronze, Silver and Gold, each level lays out criteria for improvements and advises on how to achieve them. Attitude is Everything supports music venues and festivals to create a realistic action plan for working through each level of the Charter, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to improving accessibility and by going beyond the Equality Law and achieving Best Practice.For further information visit: www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk/the-charter-of-best-practice