Accessibility & Awareness

Accessibility of the Festival Grounds

The festival grounds consist of two parts. The upper part belongs to Latibul, the Circus and Theater Pedagogical Center, and is accessible via the street "An der Schanz."

From the Boltensternstraße train station, it is about 300 meters. There are elevators at both tracks of the station that take you up to a bridge. From there, you can access the street without any further barriers and continue on to Latibul.

Directly in front of the entrance to Latibul, there are several parking spaces. Designated parking spaces for people with disabilities are available at the youth hostel, just 200 meters from the festival entrance. The path to the festival is level.

The venues on this part of the festival grounds include two circus tents and a cinema, all of which are accessible at ground level. There is also a bar and the restrooms. A barrier-free toilet for wheelchair users is located in the restroom container and is accessible via a ramp.

The second part of the grounds is the large field at the bottom, between Latibul and the Rhine. You can reach it from the upper part (Latibul) via stairs or a paved path with a slight incline. Alternatively, you can also access it from the paved bike and pedestrian path along the Rhine. Between this bike and pedestrian path and the stages is a patch of grass. On this lower part of the festival grounds, events take place in another circus tent and on the concert stage. There is also a small tent with an open library and various activities to engage in conversations and get creative, as well as another bar.

The lower tent is accessible via a paved path. The incline upwards may be too steep for wheelchair users to navigate on their own. The other stages are only accessible via the grass.

There is a video that takes you through the grounds, so you can get an idea of the conditions. The video is available with subtitles.

Assistance Service

For people who need support, we offer an assistance service from the Boltensternstraße or Slabystraße tram stops, and of course also from the parking lot for those arriving by car.

Please register by May 19 at: tickets@circus-dancce-festival.de

German Sign Language (DGS) Translation

There is a video in German Sign Language about the 2026 festival program.

The official festival opening on May 21 at 6:00 PM will be live interpreted in German Sign Language.

The following events take place without spoken language:

Overhead Project, Jef Everaert & Marica Marinoni, UNANiM, 101concrete, 360° Tag I, 360° Tag II,360° Tag III, Handle with care, Fotoausstellung, Campus Session, Campus into the city, Campus Inter-actions

Audioflyer (german)

Audio Descriptions & Touch Tour

For two events in this year’s festival program, we offer audio description, and for one event also a tactile tour. Both will be in german. Registration required; see below for more details.

1. Darragh McLoughlin | Stickman

With audio description and tactile guidance

Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 9:00 PM, in Performance Tent I (LATIBUL, An der Schanz 6, 50735 Cologne-Riehl)

A tactile tour will be offered at 8:15 p.m., 45 minutes before the play begins. Receivers and headphones will be available on site.

2. Overhead Project | What is Left

With audio description

Saturday, May 23, at 7:00 p.m. at DEPOT I (Schauspiel Köln, Schanzenstraße 6-20, 51063 Cologne-Mühlheim)

The Depot has a Wi-Fi-controlled audio system. This system works with a smartphone and headphones that you bring with you. Please make sure your device is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth compatible, and we recommend downloading the “Sennheiser Mobile Connect” app in advance. If not, the Depot has a limited number of devices available for loan.

For more information about accessibility at DEPOT I, please visit the Schauspiel Köln website: https://www.schauspiel.koeln/en/accessibility-awareness

Tickets & Registration

Tickets for both plays can be purchased here:

Stickman by Darragh McLoughlin (May 21 at LATIBUL)
What is Left by Overhead Project(May 23 at DEPOT)

A free ticket for your companion can be booked using the “Regular + Companion” ticket option. We offer an assistance service for the journey to and from the performance. Assistance dogs are permitted at both performances.

We ask that you register in advance for audio description, the tactile tour, and the assistance service by May 18th at the following email address: ticket@circus-dance-festival.de
or by phone at: 0157 8838 1639 (Contact person: Veronika Pelz)
If no registrations are received by May 18, audio description will unfortunately not be available.

Assistance Service

For people who need support, we offer an assistance service from the Boltensternstraße or Slabystraße tram stops, and of course also from the parking lot for those arriving by car.

Please register by May 18th at: ticket@circus-dancce-festival.de

Site Map of LATIBUL for People with Visual Impairments

The following are located on the grounds:

• Performance Tent 1
• Movie Tent
• Restrooms
• Bar
• Ticket Office
• Performance Tent 2
• 360° Outdoor Stages

The festival grounds extend from Latibul to the lower-lying meadows that stretch all the way to the Rhine promenade. Behind the entrance—at An der Schanz 6—is a large square, partly covered with gravel and partly paved. The tents are secured with tension straps, and you can walk underneath them.
Diagonally to the left is Performance Tent 1; to the right of it, set back a few meters, is the cinema tent, and on the far right are the restrooms.
The entrance to Performance Tent 1 is, with one exception, on its right side.
There are various seating options in the area in front of it.
For the performance of “Stickman,” the entrance will be moved to the left side of the tent.
The ticket booth and bar are located on the lawn to the left of Performance Tent 1.
Between the lawn and the tent, a paved path leads to the lower-lying lawns with the 360° outdoor stages as well as to Performance Tent 2.

Directions from Boltensternstraße to LATIBUL for people with visual impairments:

Line 18, Boltensternstraße stop to the Latibul festival grounds
150 m walk
Note: The path does not have a tactile paving system

Coming from Mülheim:

• Exit the train at the rear
• At the end of the platform, there is a staircase on the right and an elevator on the left leading to a pedestrian bridge (the elevator was out of service when this map was created)
• Turn right on the bridge
• After a few meters, you can take the stairs on the left to reach street level
• A long ramp leads straight ahead down to street level
• Once at the bottom, turn right
• Cross the crosswalk over the single-lane access road
• Walk about 50 meters in a slight right curve
• Cross An der Schanz at the traffic light (without a signal)
• Keep to the right
• Cross Latibul Access Road (at the time the map was created, the traffic signal system on this street was out of service)
• Walk about 8 meters to the left
• Cross the driveway to the parking lot
• The entrance to the festival grounds is on the right

Coming from downtown:

• Exit the train at the front

You have two options for crossing Riehler Straße

Option 1

• Shortly after exiting, at street level on the right-hand side (the traffic light was out of service when the map was created)
• After crossing the street, turn left
• After a few meters, cross the crosswalk over the single-lane access road
• Walk about 50 meters in a slight right curve
• At the traffic light (no signal), cross at An der Schanz
• Keep to the right
• Cross the Latibul access road (when this map was created, the traffic lights on this road were out of service)
• Walk about 8 meters to the left
• Cross the driveway to the parking lot
• The entrance to the festival grounds is on the right

Option 2

• At the end of the platform, there is a staircase on the left and an elevator on the right leading to a pedestrian bridge
• Turn right on the bridge
• After a few meters, you can reach street level via a staircase on the left
• Straight ahead, a long ramp leads down to street level
• Once at the bottom, turn right
• Cross the crosswalk over the single-lane access road
• Walk about 50 meters in a slight right curve
• Cross at the traffic light (without a signal) at An der Schanz
• Keep to the right
• Cross the Latibul access road (at the time the map was created, the traffic light system on this street was out of service)
• Walk about 8 meters to the left
• Cross the driveway to the parking lot
• The entrance to the festival grounds is on the right

Awareness, Dialogue and Anti-Discrimination

Community Guidelines

CircusDanceFestival sees itself as a space that is sensitive to issues of discrimination. Together, we want to create a space where everyone can feel accepted and respected, and where a critical yet constructive dialogue takes place.

The Awareness Concept and the Community Guidelines are intended to protect those affected by discrimination and to create a sensitive space that is fundamentally guided by the values of democracy, human rights and mindful coexistence.

Many of these topics form part of an ongoing process of learning and exchange, – both within the festival team and in dialogue with our cooperation partners, artists and guests. The basis for this Awareness Concept was developed in collaboration with the Initiativ feminist Circus and supplemented by recommendations from ArtAsyl e.V.

We are constantly evolving and learning in the process. We are currently being supported in this by Act-Aware e.V. As a result, our awareness concept and community guidelines are also subject to regular updates. We therefore invite you to visit this page regularly to stay up to date, and we welcome your suggestions.

Awareness – What does that mean?

Wherever large numbers of people come together, discriminatory or offensive behaviour unfortunately occurs time and again, whether consciously or unconsciously. People affected by structural forms of discrimination such as racism, sexism, ableism, queerphobia, Islamophobia, classism or ableism are particularly vulnerable to this. We want to stand by those affected; regardless of whether they are present or not, we want to resolutely oppose all forms of inhuman and discriminatory remarks and actions. Discriminatory experiences arise not only in situations where boundaries are crossed but also in the absence of active measures to address them. For example, when hurtful or discriminatory remarks are left unchallenged. Awareness means shared consciousness and attention to actively addressing structural forms of discrimination.

Awareness Team

Throughout the activities on the festival site (21–24 May), an Awareness Team will be on site and available to visitors and staff who have experienced or witnessed discrimination or harassment. If necessary, the Awareness Team will also refer individuals to external support services.

However, we believe that awareness is something we create together. We expect all visitors, artists and team members to adhere to basic rules for respectful and open coexistence. To this end, binding Community Guidelines will be communicated in advance and during the festival for those attending the festival.

General Legal Regulations

Participation in the CircusDanceFestival is governed by international and German law, in particular the protection against discrimination under Article 3 of the Basic Law (GG) and the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). CircusDanceFestival, together with the venue LATIBUL and the other venues hosting the festival programme, reserves the right to exercise its domiciliary rights in the event of inhumane remarks, discrimination or harassment, and to refuse guests or participants entry to events, or exclude them from events.

Contacting the Festival Team

If, as a visitor of the festival, you wish to report incidents of harassment, discrimination or other inappropriate behaviour in connection with the CircusDanceFestival, the email address awareness@circus-dance-festival.de is available to you all year round.

The updated website was tested and adapted in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Conformance Level AA.

Some barriers

Some video and PDF content is not yet fully accessible. However, we are working on overhauling these contents step by step and will make them accessible in the future.

We welcome any feedback, suggestions or reports regarding existing barriers, as this helps us to improve our services.