# Accessible ticketing for cultural institutions — MijnEvent For the cultural sector # Accessible ticketing for cultural institutions Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act requires online ticket sales to be accessible. At MijnEvent, WCAG AA is not an option or a surcharge but the standard — from event page to payment confirmation. [Start for free](https://mijnevent.nl/registreer) [How we do accessibility](https://mijnevent.nl/en/accessibility) Short answer ## Does my ticket sales flow have to be accessible? Yes, in almost all cases. Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act applies: e-commerce — and therefore online ticket sales — must be digitally accessible, in practice according to the WCAG guidelines at level AA. Public-sector bodies were already obliged, and municipalities and funds increasingly include accessibility in subsidy conditions for cultural institutions. The good news: you don't have to rebuild your own website for it. If you choose a ticketing platform that demonstrably has WCAG AA in order, your ticket sales — the core of your digital service — are covered right away. At MijnEvent every step is built and tested accessibly: the event page, the checkout, the seat picker, the emails and the ticket itself. # Where ticket sales usually go wrong A beautiful site with an inaccessible checkout is like a theatre with stairs at the entrance. 1 ### The checkout excludes visitors Forms without labels, error messages a screen reader never sees, buttons without a name. Exactly where the money is earned, visitors with a disability drop off. 2 ### Choosing seats requires a mouse Many venue maps are pure mouse operation. Anyone working with a keyboard or screen reader literally cannot pick a seat. 3 ### Accountability without evidence Your municipality or fund asks about digital accessibility, and your supplier has no statement, no audit and no answer. # What MijnEvent covers as standard Accessibility is a core promise with us, not a module. ### WCAG AA across the whole purchase flow From event page to payment confirmation: contrast, focus management, labels, error handling and screen reader support at every step. ### Accessible seat picker Alongside the graphical floor plan always a fully-fledged list view — with a keyboard or screen reader you pick exactly the same seat. ### Accessibility statement at hand A public accessibility statement you can share right away with your municipality, your fund or your own accessibility coordinator. ### Eleven visitor languages Your ticket sales automatically speak your visitor's language — from German and Polish to Frisian. Your own event texts are translated along. # The rules at a glance Not legal advice, but the essence — so you know where you stand. ### European Accessibility Act (2025) Since 28 June 2025 e-commerce, including online ticket sales, must be accessible to people with disabilities. Only micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees ánd less than €2 million turnover) are exempt for services. ### Government and subsidised institutions For public-sector organisations digital accessibility has been mandatory since 2018. Municipalities and cultural funds increasingly translate that into subsidy conditions for the institutions they support. ### WCAG AA as the yardstick In practice accessibility is tested against the WCAG guidelines at level AA: contrast, keyboard operation, labels, error messages and screen reader support. Exactly the standard MijnEvent builds on. # Accessibility as an opportunity, not just an obligation The Netherlands counts millions of people with a visual, auditory, motor or cognitive disability — and the cultural audience is ageing, so that group among your visitors only grows. Every barrier in ticket sales is therefore literally revenue left at the box office: a form that doesn't work with a screen reader sells no tickets to anyone who uses one. Accessible ticketing is thus not just compliance, but simply a larger reach for your programming. What does WCAG AA mean concretely in a purchase flow? Sufficient colour contrast at every step. Every form fully operable by keyboard, with visible focus. Error messages a screen reader announces, telling you how to fix them. Labels on every field, headings in logical order, and a seat picker with a fully-fledged list view alongside the graphical floor plan. At MijnEvent every new feature is built and tested to that standard before it goes live — not repaired afterwards. For accountability, that keeps the conversation with your municipality, fund or procurement department short: you point to the platform's public accessibility statement and thereby demonstrate that the most critical part of your digital service — ticket sales — is in order. That also holds when you embed the sales into your own website with the embed script: the purchase flow remains the same accessible flow, wherever it lives. # For which institutions? For theatres, arthouse cinemas, museums, libraries with programming, music venues, festivals with cultural subsidies and municipal stages. In short: every cultural organisation that works with public money or simply believes a night out should be bookable by everyone — including the visitor buying a ticket with a screen reader, keyboard or magnifier. # Trusted by hundreds of organisers Theatres, arthouse cinemas and cultural foundations sell their tickets through MijnEvent. Accessibility is not an afterthought here but a selling point: every new feature is built accessibly before it goes live. 5-star rating> "The resale feature saves us an enormous amount of customer service — visitors simply handle it themselves. And we no longer have to create and send VAT invoices by hand either: visitors simply arrange those themselves." Robin de G — Theatre programmer Frequently asked questions ## Frequently asked questions about accessible ticketing ## Is accessible ticketing legally required? Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act requires e-commerce — including online ticket sales — to be accessible. Only micro-enterprises are exempt for services. Public bodies were already obliged, and subsidy providers increasingly set the same requirement. Consult your lawyer or subsidy provider for your own situation. ## What does WCAG AA mean in practice? WCAG are the international guidelines for digital accessibility; level AA is the common legal yardstick. Think of sufficient colour contrast, full keyboard operation, clear labels and error messages, and correct screen reader support. MijnEvent builds every page and every form to that standard. ## Does the accessibility extend to emails and tickets? Yes. The confirmation emails, the PDF tickets and the wallet passes are built accessibly too, and check-in at the door works with high contrast and clear feedback. Accessibility doesn't stop at the checkout. ## Can we produce an accessibility statement? Yes. MijnEvent publishes a public accessibility statement you can share right away with your municipality, fund or accessibility coordinator. That gives you immediate evidence for subsidy accountability or a tender. ## Does our own website need changes too? The ticket sales themselves run on MijnEvent and are covered — including when you embed the sales into your own site with our embed script. You remain responsible for the rest of your website, but the most critical part, the purchase flow, is in order. ## Does accessibility cost extra? No. WCAG AA is the standard at MijnEvent for everyone, without surcharge. You only pay the usual flat fee per paid ticket, from €0.25 including VAT — free tickets are fee-free. # Ticket sales everyone can get through Create a free account and see for yourself how an accessible ticket shop works — or request the accessibility statement for your records. [Create a free account](https://mijnevent.nl/registreer) [Read about our accessibility](https://mijnevent.nl/en/accessibility)