Location

The full address of the venue is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

Venue access

The entrance to the Hall is by lift, or stairs from one side of the Social beside large screen.

Our venue is flexible. This means we have different seating plans for different events. You will see which layout the event is when you book tickets online. Our most common layout for music events in this space is fully standing, with an accessible viewing platform.

Accessibile viewing platform

For standing gigs and shows in our Warehouse space we have an accessible viewing platform available for wheelchair users and their companion or anyone needing a seat for access reasons. This is available by pre-booking only. The accessible viewing platform is usually located towards the rear of the Warehouse – it is positioned higher than the crowd and accessed via a lift and ramp. It is staffed for the duration of the event and has a dedicated bar service.

The seats on our accessible viewing platform are unpadded. They do not have arms usually, but we can provide seats with arms on request.

The accessible viewing platform in the Warehouse

If you would like more information about accessible seating options for a specific show, please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org and we’ll be happy to talk it through.

Toilets

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of the building.

Accessible toilets (a mixture of wheelchair accessible cubicles with right- or left-hand transfer as well as accessible ambulant cubicles with grab rails) are located in the brick arches in the Social.

There are additional accessible toilets on level 2, outside the doors to the Warehouse

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets.

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. You can find our assistance dog policy here:

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).

Assistive listening

Assistive listening at Aviva Studios is delivered through an Auracast-enabled broadcast system call Auri. It is available to use in both the Hall and the Warehouse.

If you have Auracast-enabled hearing aids and mobile device, you can either select and join the relevant channel, just like you would a Wi-Fi network, or scan one of the QR codes located next to all entrances to the Hall and Warehouse.

If you don’t yet have Auracast-enabled hearing aids, you can instead borrow a receiver and induction neck loop from us and connect just like you normally would to another assistive listening system (e.g. by switching to T). Receivers are available to sign-out from the orange Information Point located in the Social. You do not need to let us know ahead of time that you’d like to make use of the facility.

On our bars, box office, merch stands and information point, we make use of traditional portable induction loops.

Get in touch

If you have a question that isn’t covered here or specific access needs that aren’t yet addressed, please get in touch on access@factoryinternational.org or call us on 0161 817 4531 and we’ll do our best to help. Phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.