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Facilities & access
At Southbank Centre we welcome everyone and want our site to be available to all. We are working hard to remove barriers so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
Southbank Centre is proud to have been awarded Gold by Attitude is Everything on their Charter for Best Practice. Find out more
All ticket offices, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants across the site. We have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
View photos and video of step-free routes
View this information in a PDF document
View this information in an easy read PDF for people who have a learning disability
Step-free access
Queen Elizabeth Hall & Purcell Room
For access to Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer and Purcell Room please use Royal Festival Hall JCB glass lift to Level 2 and enter via Riverside Terrace.
For access to Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating row A and all wheelchair spaces please enter via the Artist Entrance in the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road (Level 1).
For lift access to Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden please use the Roof Garden Lift in the Queen Elizabeth Hall slip road (Level 1).
Hayward Gallery
For gallery, foyer, cafe and shop, use JCB Glass Lift (Blue Side Foyers, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall) plus exit onto Riverside Terrace and use main entrance into Hayward Gallery. All floors are accessible from main foyer. Please use the main foyer lift to access the Gallery Cafe.
Parking
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 Royal Festival Hall and Hayward Gallery).
The Hayward car park is now closed to cars. Alternative parking is available nearby at the National Theatre car park (330 metres) and APCOA Cornwall Road Car Park(490 metres), subject to charges.
Blue Badge Parking National Theatre
Alternative parking for Blue Badge holders visiting Southbank Centre can be found at the National Theatre car park (330 metres). Just take your badge and car park ticket to Royal Festival Hall Ticket Office on Level 2, for validation before you leave.
Please note: on Sunday when the National Theatre building is closed there is no step-free access from the car park.
Blue Badge Parking APCOA Cornwall Road
Alternative parking for Blue Badge holders visiting Southbank Centre can also be found at the South Bank Car Park – 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 Royal Festival Hall (30 metres) has been created for visitors who are unable to walk from alternative car parks.
Help on site
If you have any concerns or need assistance while you visit us, please contact any member of staff and they will help you or contact a Duty Manager.
For visitors with prams, buggies and wheelchairs, or requiring step-free access to Level 1 spaces (Gamelan Room; Blue Room; Violet Room; White Room) please go to the Welcome Hub at Level 2 Foyers, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall, where our Visitor Experience team is happy to assist you.
Get top visit tips and meet our team
- 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.
- There are accessible toilets on every level of Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and in the Hayward Gallery Foyer.
- 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.
- Sound enhancement systems are available in all our venues. Contact the Welcome Hub to collect 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.
Assisted events
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, 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.
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.
You may be eligible for concessionary tickets if you have specific seating requirements and a complimentary seat for your personal assistant or companion.
Get in touch to receive updates about assisted performances, or for any queries or requests for assistance.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 3879 9555
Changing Places Toilet
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.
The key for this room is available from the Welcome Hub, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall.
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 daily 10am - 11pm.
Family and baby facilities
Southbank Centre welcomes children and families throughout the year and provides world-class facilities to make your visit an enjoyable one. The site is fully accessible to pushchairs and wheelchair users.
All our venues have public toilets with wheelchair access and baby changing facilities. There is a cloakroom available on level 1, Royal Festival Hall. This is accessed via steps or platform lift from the Southbank Centre Square doors.
Cloakroom
Situated on level 1, Royal Festival Hall, our cloakroom opens approximately 60 minutes before the start of any Royal Festival Hall show, and closes around 15 minutes after the performance ends. It is also open on selected festival days.
The charge is £1 per item, which must be collected on the same day they are stored. Items left here are at the owner’s risk and we cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage, from any cause, to items left in the cloakroom.
Food and drink
All the cafes, bars, restaurants and markets at Southbank Centre have step-free access. If you are dining at Skylon, please come to the Level 2 Ticket Office at Royal Festival Hall, where a visitor host will assist you.
You are welcome to bring your own food and soft drinks to Royal Festival Hall.
Find out more about our cafes, bars, restaurants and markets
Multi Faith Prayer Room
A multi-faith prayer room is located in Royal Festival Hall, Green Side Foyers, Level 2, offering a quiet retreat for prayer and meditation. The door code is available from the Welcome Hub, Green Side Foyers, Level 2.
While you're here
We politely ask you to follow our house rules and any requests from our Visitor Experience team. Please help us to keep our foyers looking welcoming and presentable to everyone.
- Please keep your personal belongings with you at all times. Security will be called if you leave your items unattended.
- Our Queen Elizabeth Hall cafe/bar and foyer seating is for visitors who are purchasing food and beverages from the venue. No food and beverages bought outside can be consumed in these areas.
- You are welcome to bring your own food and soft drinks to Royal Festival Hall foyers. However, please note that only alcoholic drinks purchased at Southbank Centre can be consumed here.
- Thank you for respecting that the Queen Elizabeth Hall cafe is a gadget and laptop free area. You are welcome to use your laptop, tablet, e-reader or other equivalent device from 10am – 5pm in other areas.
- We cannot guarantee that our spaces are always available for non-socialising activity and do ask you to pack up all laptops, tablets and e-readers by 5pm. After this, our foyers are dedicated to fun and relaxation, especially in the hours leading up to evening concerts.
- For the comfort of all visitors, sleeping is not permitted in our foyer spaces.
- All visitors are asked to sit on a seat. Sitting on the floor is not permitted. We have increased the amount of furniture in the building and there are plenty of seats for all.
- Shoes must also be worn at all times whilst inside our buildings, and please don’t put your feet on our new furniture, so that it stays clean and undamaged for everyone.
- Multiple bags or very large luggage items encroach on the space available to other visitors. Please be considerate to others and avoid taking up more space than you need.
- The use of extension leads and cables is not allowed as these can be a trip hazard.
- For the comfort of all visitors, smoking of e-cigarettes or other products that produce a vapour or smoke are not allowed inside our buildings.
- Each day we close some foyer spaces to visitors and only allow entry to people with tickets. This is to provide space for audiences as they arrive for performances. Please look out for signs and listen to announcements; these give you more information about closure times and where else you can sit.
