ISED-M - Innovative Systems for European Disability Models Association is coordinating the accessibility development concept for the Balatonboglár Festival. 

This year, the Festival will take place in Balatonboglár, Hungary, from 19 to 23 August 2026. The initiative is aimed at creating a festival concept that goes beyond traditional event formats and to establish inclusion and accessibility as defining principles of cultural event planning.

On this basis, the Balatonboglár Festival may be understood as a future model festival built on the principles of an accessibility ecosystem.

The concept brings together community participation, the cultural programme offer, physical, digital and infocommunication accessibility, as well as the support and service structures that enable fuller, safer and more dignified participation for visitors with different access needs.

Accordingly, the current development concept includes the creation of accessible routes, a clear and consistent signage system, partly AI-supported innovative software developments, digital information solutions, audio-based communication tools, on-site assistance points, and the creation of a family-friendly, participation-centred festival environment.

The concept of the Balatonboglár Festival also has a clear strategic dimension. It seeks to connect local cultural life, community-building and tourism with the European values of inclusion, equal participation and human dignity. At the same time, it also aims to open the way for international professional cooperation, including disability service providers, accessibility experts, cultural actors and innovation-oriented partners.

In this way, the initiative addresses not only audiences and visitors, but also all professional and institutional stakeholders working to advance inclusion in practice.

One of the particularly important elements of the concept is the planned involvement of the corporate private sector. The project is based on the premise that inclusion can become truly strong and sustainable only if companies appear not merely as passive sponsors, but as active and visible actors of social innovation.

In the case of the Balatonboglár Festival, this means that the involvement of businesses is not aimed solely at supporting a cultural event, but also at jointly building an accessibility and inclusive model that carries measurable social value and, in a clearly perceptible way, demonstrates responsible corporate engagement.

For this reason, it is of particular importance for the initiative to receive broader professional visibility already at this stage. EASPD members may contribute to expanding cooperation, supporting continuous exchange of experience, and engaging with the wider European dialogue on how festivals can become more accessible, more participatory and more socially responsible while preserving their cultural appeal and their ability to reach audiences.

In this sense, the Balatonboglár Festival is also a proposal for how inclusion can become more visible, more experience-based and closer to concrete action within the European cultural space, while demonstrating that inclusive festival design can also be approached as a systemic, scalable and partnership-based practice.