Wellnergy Festival partners with Spectrum First to create First Safe Space for Neurodiverse attendees

Wellnergy (www.wellnergy.co.uk), an all-new life, soul and mind enriching wellness festival set to debut on 17th June 2023 at Barn Elms in Barnes, is excited to announce its plans to become one of the most inclusive festivals in the UK as it partners with Spectrum First (https://spectrumfirst.org/) to create the first ever neuro-inclusivity festival safe space which will cater for all neurotypes.

Attending events involving large groups of people or crowds can be difficult for neurodivergent people. This can create issues on a daily basis when needing to do things that are necessary, such as food shopping as well as impacting things that people might want to experience, including going to events like festivals. 

Hopefully, this partnership will mean that people who would not usually go to such spaces feel safe in the knowledge that not only can they attend, but that they will be fully welcomed, understood and supported when they do.

Wellnergy wellness festival

Nick Steiert, founder of Wellnergy says, “Wellnergy is a very inclusive brand, so when it was suggested that we try and foster this even more by making our festival neuro-inclusive, it lit a spark inside of me and I jumped at the opportunity to try and make this happen.”  

Gemma Barstow, Spectrum First added, “festivals, art and culture have been shown to have a positive impact on neurodivergent individuals, many of whom are creative and artistically minded themselves, however research has often shown these spaces to be inaccessible for a wide variety of reasons including, but absolutely not limited to, their sensory experiences.”

Working with Wellnergy will allow Spectrum First to bring its understanding of neuro inclusion to a festival space for the first time, focusing on how to support neurodivergent people to feel safe, supported but most importantly able to enjoy a festival whilst connecting with others.

Barstow adds, “We have published an article which demonstrates the choices we are making about this pilot and how best to create the space.  We will also be posting information about what to expect during specific stages of the festival. All of the design is being developed with and by neurodivergent people. Our mantra at Spectrum First is that there is no best practice, because we continually strive to better our methods, the same mantra that will be applied to this project!”

Wellnergy opens at 8.30AM on Saturday 17th June 2023 and closes at 9PM, event attendees can reach Barn Elms Sports Centre in Barnes, London, SW13 ODG with a short walk from Barnes Station, there is no car park around.

Tickets are available to buy from the website, and are priced £65 for a standard ticket, £44 for students, £33 for young adults (13-16) and £22 for Juniors (9-12).