Inclusive Sport and Culture Festival brings together leading voices from disability arts
Some of the UK’s most influential figures in disability arts, accessibility and inclusive culture have been brought together to help support the cultural programme for the Inclusive Sport and Culture Festival (ISCF), which comes to Liverpool from 2–8 May 2027.
The newly formed Cultural Advisory Group will play a central role in developing the festival’s £1 million Arts Council England supported disabled-led cultural programme, ensuring it is artistically ambitious, accessible and authentically informed by disabled artists, creatives and cultural leaders.
The programme is being devised by acclaimed Creative Director Bev Ayre, supported by programme advisor Zoe Partington, a leader and consultant in cultural inclusion and access.
The Cultural Advisory Group is chaired by internationally recognised sculptor and disability arts pioneer Tony Heaton OBE; award-winning writer and comedian Laurence Clark; acclaimed disabled writer and Chair of DaDa, Mandy Redvers-Rowe; leading accessibility consultant Kate Fox; Creative Director of UnMute and access consultant Andrew Lansley; Stagetext’s Head of Advocacy and Engagement Rachel Jele; and soprano and arts advocate Bethan Langford.
Bringing together internationally recognised artists, writers, performers, accessibility specialists and cultural leaders, the Cultural Advisory Group represents a wealth of expertise spanning disability arts, theatre, television, music, public art, accessibility and audience engagement. Their collective experience will inform a programme that places disabled-led creativity at the heart of one of the UK’s most ambitious inclusive festivals.
The UK Sport-owned festival will unite world-class disabled-led culture with elite para sport in a UK-first celebration of creativity, inclusion and excellence. The festival will present a groundbreaking £1 million disabled-led arts and cultural programme, funded by Arts Council England, delivered by Culture Liverpool and led by deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists, alongside four international para sport competitions across Boccia, Para Athletics, Wheelchair Rugby and Paracanoe, delivered in partnership with Boccia UK, UK Athletics, Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby and Paddle UK.
At its heart, the Inclusive Sport and Culture Festival is designed to bring culture and sport together as one experience, creating a powerful shared platform that celebrates excellence, creativity and representation for both artists and athletes.
Through ambitious new commissions, performances, installations and international competition, the festival aims to create lasting opportunities for disabled people while driving meaningful social impact long after the festival has ended. Core funding includes a £2.3 million National Lottery contribution alongside a £1 million grant from Arts Council England.
Bev Ayre, Creative Director of the Inclusive Sport and Culture Festival, said: “The Inclusive Sport and Culture Festival is about creating something genuinely different. We’re bringing together outstanding artists, practitioners, accessibility specialists and advocates whose expertise and lived experience will help shape a cultural programme that is bold, ambitious and rooted in inclusion from the very beginning.
“The strength of this group lies in the breadth of experience around the table. Together they bring artistic excellence, lived experience and an unwavering commitment to accessibility, ensuring disabled voices are not simply represented but are helping lead and shape the festival from the outset.
“The cultural programme will be every bit as ambitious as the sporting programme. By bringing together leaders from across disability arts and inclusive culture, we’re creating something that has the potential to influence how major events are designed and delivered long after the festival has ended.”
Rebecca Ball, Area Director North, Arts Council England said “The Arts Council is very proud to be supporting the cultural programme of the Inclusive Sport and Culture Festival which has inclusion at its very core.
“The Cultural Advisory Group contains artists and leaders with a breadth of experience and skills which will ensure that the ambitious commissions and work created will be led and delivered by deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists. I’m looking forward to the programme announcement later this year which promises to be bold, exciting and truly ground-breaking.”
The appointment of the Cultural Advisory Group marks the first in a series of major announcements for the Inclusive Sport and Culture Festival. Over the coming months, the festival will unveil its artistic programme, headline commissions, participating artists and cultural experiences, building towards one of the UK’s most exciting celebrations of disabled-led culture.
