Overview

Eastbourne Bandstand, on the sea front is an open air music venue, offering a diverse range of musical performances from traditional brass band concerts to tribute acts. I visited when the London Metropolitan Brass Band was playing and it made for an entertaining and relaxing afternoon out.

Transport & Parking

The Bandstand is on the sea front, about half a mile from Eastbourne railway station. There are local buses that stop outside.

Access

Hopefully I won't over complicate this. The sea front is on 3 levels. On the top there is the road and this is where the Upper Balcony seating is and their website says that "Please note: the Upper Balcony is only accessible via steps and is tiered once on this level (The Upper Balcony is only sold once other areas are sold out)." Then there are ramps down to the middle and bottom level. On the middle level is the Middle Balcony seating area. This is step free. This is where I was sitting in which had firm plastic seats and over looks the bandstand. My photo of the bandstand was taken sitting in the front row. On this level too are the accessible and Changing Places toilets and there was a bar stall selling drinks. On the bottom level is the main entrance to the bandstand, the Main Arena seating and the Box Office. The seating on this level are directors' chairs with canvas seating and arms. This is also the area where some wheelchair users were sitting. This is a step free area. There is no lift access. I sat in the middle level so don't know what facilities there were in terms of toilets or bar stall, etc, on the other levels. The middle level was perfect for me. The Main Arena is unlocked prior to the performance but the Middle level where I was, is kept open as it's part of the sea front pathway. While I was there a ticket collector came round to check people's tickets and I think some people purchased tickets from him. Tickets can also be purchased online or at the Box Office, sorry no photo, but it was very small and had a single step into it. The acoustics were very good both when the band were performing and when the Band Leader was introducing the music.

Toilets

There are accessible toilets opened with a RADAR key on Main Arena and Middle balcony levels. There is a Changing Places toilet on the Middle balcony level. I used the Middle balcony area accessible toilet, see photo, this was spacious, clean, with grab rails and emergency cord.

Staff

I only had brief involvement with the staff. At the Box Office the person was very helpful in advising which seating would best meet my needs. the ticket collector was very polite and unobtrusive.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The Bandstand is open air so dress accordingly. It made for a lovely, fun and relaxing afternoon out. Highly recommend.

Photos