AusLeisure

The City of Sydney succeeded in making Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations more accessible by improving the information and options available for people living with a disability.

To help people plan their journey and the most appropriate location to suit their needs, the City produced 'steps free' accessibility maps, which provided advice on suggested routes without stairs to three recommended Sydney New Year's Eve vantage points.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the maps reflected the City's commitment to making Sydney New Year's Eve as embracing for everyone, including people living with a disability, stating "our fireworks celebration is one of the world's best New Year's Eve parties.

"It's for everyone and we wanted to make sure that people living with a disability were able to come along and join in the celebrations."

The new maps were available to download and provided direct and easily accessible paths to the City's most accessible vantage points around Sydney Harbour: Bicentennial Park in Glebe, Pirrama Park in Pyrmont and Embarkation Park in Potts Point.

Another exciting accessibility feature of NYE12 was the return of the audio description accompanying the Midnight Fireworks Display, after a positive reception in 2011.

The audio description was available on radio station 2RPH and included descriptions of the fireworks displays, as well as interviews with the event's organisers so listeners could get a behind-the-scenes insight into the planning of this world leading event.

Vision Australia representative from and Glebe resident Bruce Maguire said the audio description enhanced his Sydney New Year's Eve experience as he discovered things about fireworks he never knew before.

Maguire explained "the audio description is a great way to include blind and vision-impaired people in the event.

"The City of Sydney has done a lot with their resources to make New Year's Eve more accessible for everyone. A lot of the celebration is very visual - we live in a visual world so the audio commentary is great because it brings you back into the world that everyone else is living in."

The City of Sydney's committed Accessibility Coordinator also manages the dedicated accessibility page on the Sydney New Year's Eve website at www.sydneynewyearseve.com

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