A festival for everyone
Accessibility is not an add-on at Imaginarius, it is embedded in the way the festival thinks, programmes and inhabits the city. The festival assumes an ongoing commitment to creating real conditions that allow people with different needs to access artistic content, move through the spaces and experience the programme with autonomy, comfort and dignity. More than responding to formal requirements, this is about building a context of attentive, informed and active welcome, where each person can find their own place and their own rhythm within a shared collective experience.
To this end, a range of accessibility tools is made available to support a more inclusive experience, covering access to information, enjoyment of performances, mobility across the site, rest and comfort spaces, and the management of sensory stimuli. The aim is simple and demanding: to make public space genuinely usable by everyone, recognising the diversity of bodies, perceptions and ways of being.
Portuguese Sign Language (LGP)
The festival programme will be available on the website with Portuguese Sign Language (LGP) interpretation, ensuring access to essential information for the Deaf community. The performance Ossos de Ofício will include an LGP interpreter, integrating accessibility into the artistic experience itself.
Audio description (AD)
The performance Mirage offers an audio description service for people with visual impairments. Participation is free, subject to prior registration via +351 914 382 701, ensuring appropriate guidance and a more engaging and close-up experience of the artistic content.
Noise-cancelling headphones
Two noise-cancelling headphones will be made available for neurodivergent audiences.
Mobility, circulation and parking
The Interactive Tourism Office provides two wheelchairs for loan to people with reduced mobility, as well as two baby strollers, facilitating time spent on site and movement between venues.
The festival also ensures reserved parking for people with reduced mobility (Dr. Santos Carneiro), contributing to closer, safer and continuous access from arrival to the different programme locations.
Accessible areas at performance sites
Six performance locations offer priority seating for audiences with reduced mobility (Praça Dr. Gaspar Moreira, Rossio, Arquivo Municipal, Alameda do Tribunal, Rua de Descobrimentos, Parque Urbano Condes de Fijô). These seats should be occupied 15 minutes before the start of each performance, ensuring better visibility, safety and comfort.
Sensory stimulus map
A sensory stimulus map is available, identifying areas of higher sound or visual intensity, as well as zones with greater audience concentration. This tool supports anticipation, informed decision-making and a safer, more comfortable experience, and is particularly relevant for neurodivergent people, families and audiences sensitive to sensory overload.