Access

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive space for all. Design your own weekend exploring science and art with accessible activities, facilities and resources.

On this page:

Getting Here

Accessible Facilities  

Additional Resources (Including Hearing Assistance, Sensory Map and Visual Story)

Partner Museums

More Help

Getting Here 

The Festival is largely step free and is located across Exhibition Road in South Kensington, Imperial College London and various partner institutions.  Visitors are encouraged to travel by public transport where possible, and we recommend that you visit the TFL website to find the best accessible route. 

Bus 

The nearest bus stops to the Great Exhibition Road Festival are:  

  • Exhibition Road South End: Victoria & Albert Museum Stop (Stand R)
  • Exhibition Road North End: Exhibition Road (Stop RL and RB)

The above bus stops are served by the 430, 9, 5 and 452 bus routes.   

Rail & Underground 

South Kensington is the nearest underground station to Exhibition Road. This station is approximately 550m to Exhibition Road and is served by the Piccadilly, Circle and District lines. South Kensington is not step free.   

Gloucester Road Underground Station is approximately 700m to Exhibition Road. This is served by the Piccadilly, Circle and District lines and has a lift, but is not step free from the platform to lift.  

West Brompton, approximately 2.3km away, has partial step-free access and is served by the District Line, London Overground and West London Line.   

The nearest underground station offering step-free access from street to train is Green Park Station – from here, you can take the number 9 bus to the Festival site.  

Parking  

There are blue badge parking spaces located near the Festival site. These spaces are managed by the council, for more information please see The City of Westminster website.

Accessible Toilets and Changing Facilities 

Gender neutral wheelchair-accessible toilets and baby changing facilities will be located across the festival site and in partner institutions.

You’ll find accessible toilets inside the:

  • Ground Floor of Imperial College London's Main Entrance (World Science Zone)
  • Sir Alexander Fleming Building (Tech Zone)
  • Dyson Building of Design Engineering
  • Ground and Lower Ground Floor of Imperial College London's Business School (World Science Zone, entrance through Imperial College's Main Entrance) 

Accessible toilets found inside indoor venues around the Festival can accommodate electric wheelchair users. 

You can find accessible portable toilets on:

  • Watts Way, Prince’s Gardens (Underground Adventure Zone)
  • Imperial College Road opposite the Queen’s Tower
  • East Albert Lawn, Kensington Gardens (Family Fun Zone)

All accessible toilets are gender-neutral.  

Changing Places Toilet  

Changing Places facilities provide sanitary accommodation for people who require use of a hoist.

The nearest facilities are on:

  • Floor 0 of the Science Museum
  • Floor 0 of the Natural History Museum

If you require use of these facilities, please approach any member of Museum staff during the opening hours 10.00–17.30 for directions.

Gender-neutral toilets  

All portable toilets and accessible toilets listed above are gender-neutral.

The Science Museum has specific gender-neutral toilets on:

  • Level 1 in Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries
  • Level 3 outside Wonderlab

Indoor accessible toilets  

Accessible toilets can be found inside indoor venues around the Festival and can accommodate electric wheelchair users.

Seating  

The Festival is largely standing only, although seating is available across the site, particularly around any of the performance areas such the Bandstand in Dangoor Plaza, the Main stage on Exhibition Road and the Family Stage in Kensington Gardens.

Assistance Dogs 

Assistance dogs are welcome at the Great Exhibition Road Festival. Dogs must be suitably trained, supervised, and remain on a lead, tabard, or harness throughout your visit.  

Non-assistance dogs are welcome to visit any outside Festival site but will not be allowed into any internal Festival venues. 

If you have any concerns or questions about this, please contact [email protected] in advance of your planned visit. 

More resources

These resources are intended to give visitors with sensory difficulties the information they need to plan their visit and fully enjoy the Festival.  

Sensory Map and Visual Story 

A sensory map of the 2026 Festival will be available in the lead-up to the Festival to help you prepare for your visit. There will also be a visual story that will explain what kind of things you can expect during your visit, that will include lots of images with text.

Hearing Assistance

Hearing loop systems will be available for selected parts of the talks programme and other activities.

Saturday 6 June:

Sunday 7 June:

All of the talks and performances listed can be pre-booked, but there will also be spaces available on the day.  

Live captioned events

There will be a selection of live captioned talks across the Festival:

Saturday 6 June:

Sunday 7 June:

British Sign Language

There are a selection of British Sign Language interpreted events across the Festival:

If you would like to see a specific talk BSL interpreted, please contact [email protected] to make a request. We will do our best to accommodate your needs where possible.  

Partially sighted and blind visitors  

We understand that visitors who are partially sighted or blind might prefer some extra assistance around the Festival. in 2025, we teamed up with Travel Hands to offer a free companionship service with trained guides that can meet and escort you around the Festival. We hope to replicate this in 2026.

Ear Plugs 

We understand that some parts of the Festival can be loud, especially for some of our very young visitors, or visitors with sensory sensitivities. You can pick up free ear plugs from any of the main information points or around any performance stages.   

Sensory Calm Spaces – Imperial College Road, near Dangoor Plaza, and Kensington Gardens (Family Fun Zone)

Sensory Calm Spaces can be used by visitors who need a private area away from the public, whether to escape the hustle and bustle of the Festival or to avoid any sounds, triggers or experiences that are making them feel anxious or overwhelmed. They will be staffed with mental health first aiders at all times. 

The Sensory Calm Spaces are located on Imperial College Road, near Dangoor Plaza, and in the Family Fun Zone (East Albert Lawn, Kensington Gardens). They include seating and a carpeted area, with a capacity of 6 people at any one time. There are also toilets and a water fountain located nearby. This service is provided by EventWell. 

Multi-Faith Spaces – Imperial College London's Business School (World Science Zone)

The multi-faith spaces are available for anyone to use should they need a private place to spend time in contemplation or prayer. The multi-faith spaces are in Seminar rooms 1, 2 and 3 inside Imperial College London's Business School.

In each room there are prayer mats that can be used, with toilets and a water fountain located nearby.

Baby Change and Breastfeeding facilities

We welcome breastfeeding anywhere across the Festival. However, if you prefer a private space, there are dedicated baby change and breastfeeding facilities by the Queens Tower, near Dangoor Plaza, and in Kensington Gardens, East Albert Lawn (Family Fun Zone).  

You can also find baby change facilities in existing toilets inside the Alexander Fleming Building (Tech Zone) and in the Flowers Building (Be a Scientist Zone).  

Partner Museums Accessibility 

Please visit the links below for further information about accessibility at each Partner building. 

Science Museum: See the full access statement here. 

V&A: See the full access statement here. 

Natural History Museum: See the full access statement here. 

Goethe-Institut London: See the full access statement here. 

Royal Albert Hall: See the full access statement here. 

More Help

If you have any questions around accessibility prior to the Festival, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Festival team via [email protected], supplying your name, phone number, email address and reason for your enquiry.