Accessibility and Mobility Events Calendar
13th September 2024
From the latest stairlifts to the newest walk-in baths and technology, there are lots of useful items that can help those with limited mobility who want to continue to live active and independent lives.
These technologies are often displayed at mobility events, allowing them to show off what they can do. The mobility and disability sector is always evolving with new products hitting the market, but the best way to keep up to date with new innovations is to visit the latest exhibitions and events that are taking place throughout 2024/25.
Here, we give you insight into the top mobility and disability events, but please bear in mind that some events are designed specifically for care providers and other healthcare professionals.
Contents
Click on a month below and discover what mobility events are taking place.
2024
2025
Mobility events in September
Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival
Dates of event: 4-8 September 2024
Location: Southbank Centre
The annual Unlimited Festival will once again be held at the Southbank Centre and will allow people to experience the work of outstanding disabled artists.
The Unlimited Festival is a biennial event, and it features visual art, dance, performances, comedy, and music from disabled artists and companies.
Since the festival’s creation over 10 years ago, Unlimited’s commissioning programme has awarded over £4.8 million to over 460 ambitious disabled artists and companies.
The 2024 festival boasts some of the UK and Europe's most exciting new work, including London premieres of Stopgap Dance Company’s Lived Fiction and Touretteshero's Burnt Out in Biscuit Land.
Visit the event page website here.
Rise4Disability
Dates of event: 10 September 2024 (Rise4Disability Kent), 22 October 2024 (Rise4Disability Milton Keynes), 5 November 2024 (Rise4Disability Glasgow), 13 February 2025 (Rise4Disability Sunderland).
Location: Discovery Park in Kent (Rise4Disability Kent), Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes (Rise4Disability Milton Keynes), Hampden Park in Glasgow (Rise4Disability Glasgow), Beacon of Light in Sunderland (Rise4Disability Sunderland).
The free-to-attend Rise4Disability events take place across the country. Two national events occur in Sunderland and Milton Keynes, and two smaller events come to Kent and Glasgow, respectively.
The expos aim to celebrate all abilities, promote inclusion and offer advice on services for disabilities.
The Rise4Disability team will be looking to showcase the latest innovations in disability equipment provision and a wide range of services. Relevant charities will also be on hand to offer free and impartial advice to delegates.
There are conferences and workshops at the events, and these will feature motivational talks from people with lived experience. There are sessions covering a range of topics, including the financial implications of living with a disability and tackling obstacles with travel.
There is always a particular focus on ways to increase accessibility and mobility, such as via hands on practical workshops where you can put the latest mobility equipment through its paces and make sure it meets your individual needs.
Visit the event page website here.
The Big Event Edinburgh
Dates of event: 13-14 September 2024
Location: Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
This free-to-attend event offers locals in the area the chance to find out more about motoring with Motability.
Over 70 cars, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, scooters, and powered wheelchairs will be exhibited at this regional event. There is also expert information available about the driving adaptions people can make to their cars and an indoor scooter test drive area.
If you are visiting with children, there is a children’s play area at the event, including face painting stations and free balloon modelling.
Visit the event page website here.
Mobility events in October
International Day of Older Persons
Date of event: 1 October 2024
Location: Worldwide
This worldwide event takes place on the 1st of October every year and looks to celebrate older people in the country and their contribution to society.
This year will mark the 34th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons, and this event often sees numerous activities take place up and down the UK to encourage older people to get active and for younger people to spend more time with the older generations.
The event’s objectives this year will be:
- To help change the narrative on ageing.
- Bring awareness of the importance of digital inclusion for older persons while tackling stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination associated with digitalisation.
- To highlight policies to leverage digital technologies to fully achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).
- To address public and private interests in the areas of availability, connectivity, design, affordability, capacity building, infrastructure, and innovation.
- To explore the role of policies and legal frameworks to ensure the privacy and safety of older persons in the digital world.
- To highlight the need for a legally binding instrument on the rights of older persons and an intersectional person-centred human rights approach for a society for all ages.
Visit the event page website here.
Care Show
Date of event: 9-10 October 2024
Location: NEC, Birmingham
Regarded as the UK’s largest completely care-focused event, the Care Show is a great place for healthcare professionals to find out more about caring for older people.
The show will offer expert-led CPD-accredited conference sessions, hands-on training and a host of networking opportunities for those responsible for providing care to others.
Visitors can try thousands of the latest products and services from more than 200 healthcare suppliers, showcasing anything and everything from furniture and interior products to business services. There are set to be more than 170 healthcare experts speaking at the event, over 75 CPD-accredited conference sessions, and eight training zones.
Visit the event page website here.
Kidz to Adultz Exhibitions
Dates of events: 11 October 2024 (Kidz to Adultz North), 13 March 2025 (Kidz to Adultz Middle), 1 May 2025 (Kidz to Adultz South), 1 July 2025 (Kidz to Adultz Wales & West)
Location: Manchester Central (Kidz to Adultz North), Exhibition Hall, Coventry Building Society Arena (Kidz to Adultz Middle), Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre (Kidz to Adultz South), International Convention Centre in Newport (Kidz to Adultz Wales & West).
Disabled Living has been organising the very prestigious Kidz to Adultz events since 2001 and now holds five of the largest free UK exhibitions totally dedicated to children and young adults up to 25 years with disabilities and additional needs, their parents, carers and all the professionals who support and work with them.
At the events, there are generally around 100-180 exhibitors sharing information and offering advice on the following:
- Funding
- Mobility
- Seating
- Sensory
- Beds
- Communication
- Education
- Employment
- Legal matters
- Sport activities
- Holidays and leisure
- Access
- Accessible vehicles
- Transport
- Leisure
There are also free CPD seminars for professionals, parents and carers to attend.
The exhibitors at the Kidz to Adultz Exhibitions will showcase their products and equipment and outline details of their services. There is also an opportunity for attendees to take part in competitions!
Visit the event page website here.
Mobility events in November
The Occupational Therapy Show
Dates of event: 27-28 November 2024
Location: NEC, Birmingham
The Occupational Therapy Show is the UK's largest dedicated CPD education and trade event for Occupational Therapists (OTs) and managers working within the equipment services teams alongside them.
The show welcomes thousands of OTs from all over the country and from a wide range of specialist areas to educate, inspire, and raise the profile for such an important allied healthcare profession and looks forward to welcoming more equipment service teams this year.
There is a total of 100+ hours of professional development to be obtained over the two days. CPD certificates will be sent out post-event, stating the sessions attended and the total number of hours attended. The nine key themes for this year's event include:
- Clinical areas
- Governance
- Mental Health
- Paediatrics
- Physical
- Housing
- Moving & Handling
- Neurological Practice
- ICES
The exhibition features leading suppliers displaying practical new equipment, innovative products and services.
The 2024 event will feature over 100 CPD-accredited interactive conference sessions and practical workshops, and there will be over 250 exhibitors attending the event.
Visit the event page website here.
Mobility events in December
Sight Tech Global
Dates of event: 4-5 December 2024
Location: Virtual
Sight Tech Global is the first global virtual conference dedicated to fostering discussion among technology pioneers on how rapid advances in AI and related technologies will fundamentally alter the landscape of assistive technology and accessibility.
The event is virtual and will be streamed live. It is free to watch and will also be available on demand after the event.
The event will be hosting one-to-ones, panels, and demonstrations with top technologists, and in previous years, speakers have included the head of accessibility at Meta and the Principal Accessibility Researcher at Amazon.
Visit the event page website here.
Mobility events in 2025
Mobility events in January
No events publicised at time of writing
Mobility events in February
No events publicised at time of writing
Mobility events in March
Abilities Expo
Dates of event: 7-9 March 2025
Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, USA
The Abilities Expo is one of the biggest events in the world, and for more than 40 years it has been a go-to source for people with limited mobility and other disabilities all over the world.
The next Abilities Expo will be bringing together new products and tech for the community of people with disabilities, their families, caregivers, seniors, and healthcare professionals, all under one roof.
This year attendees can expect to see the latest tech and disability products, visit informative workshops and, try inclusive activities such as adaptive sports, dance, and have a go on the adaptive climbing wall.
Visit the event page website here.
Naidex
Dates of event: 19-20 March 2025
Location: NEC, Birmingham
The Naidex event is Europe's most established event dedicated to the disability, healthcare and independent living sectors.
The event will showcase a wide range of solutions to improve mobility and accessibility, the latest innovations in mobility tech, and will explore the future of digital and physical accessibility.
As part of the event, you can listen to live seminars from leading experts in the industry, watch a range of demos, meet with suppliers that can help offer you products and solutions to overcome your challenges and network with experts and forge relationships with existing and new contacts.
The event normally welcomes more than 10,000 visitors and over 200 exhibitors, and more than 100 seminars usually take place over the two-day event.
In previous shows, there have been celebrity appearances from James Cracknell OBE, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, and Roman Kemp. There have been live performances from the Music Man Project, Kate Stanforth and the Grumpy Gits podcast in recent events too.
At the most recent event, some of the speakers included Channel 4 News sports correspondent Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, influencer and journalist Lucy Edwards, television personality and host of a disability podcast Tasha Ghouri, and Heather Hepburn, who is the Head of Accessibility at Skyscanner.
Visit the event page website here.
Mobility events in April
No events were publicised at the time of writing
Mobility events in May
The Big Event
Dates of event: 17-18 May 2025
Location: NEC, Birmingham
The Big Event, which is the Motability Scheme's flagship show and is the UK’s largest display of cars, scooters and powered wheelchairs for disabled people, will once again be held at the NEC in Birmingham.
The event, which is free-to-attend for visitors, allows those with mobility problems to find out everything they need to know about worry-free motoring with Motability.
At this year’s event there will be more than 160 cars from manufacturers such as Ford, Toyota, Audi and Vauxhall, as well as over 70 powered wheelchairs and scooters. Each manufacturer has advisors on hand to demonstrate the vehicles, helping you find the one that best suits your needs.
Visitors are able to test drive the adapted and non-adapted cars with a professional instructor to find out which vehicles are best suited to their individual needs. Test drives can only be booked on the day of the event.
Visit the event page website here.
Mobility events in June
NAEP Annual Conference
Dates of event: 16-18 June 2025
Location: Chesford Grange Hotel and Spa, Warwick
The NAEP National Annual Conference is organised by the National Association of Equipment Providers. The two-day event is for the benefit of people who work within the community by providing equipment and advice on the most up-to-date practices, particularly for those who supply equipment that can help older people and those with mobility difficulties or a disability.
The topics that will be covered at the 2025 event are being finalised, but at last year’s event the conference discussed how technology has changed the sector as well as other pressing matters.
The event will once again be welcoming guest speakers and will be hosting workshop sessions.
Visit the event page website here.
Heart n Soul
Dates of event: Every Wednesday and Friday and other select dates
Location: Online and in-person at various locations
Heart n Soul, is an award-winning creative arts company that believes in the talents and power of people with learning disabilities and provides opportunities for people to discover, develop and share this talent. They have also been running popular events for many years.
The free creative sessions offer training in music, dance, radio DJing and digital arts to young people (aged 10-25 years) with learning disabilities who are new to the arts.
Heart n Soul offers activities which people can enjoy from home. Each activity happens on Zoom, with movement and dance sessions every Wednesday and art sessions on Fridays. There are also many different sessions taking place online and in-person in June and throughout the year where adults with learning disabilities can try new activities, learn new skills and meet new people.
Visit the event page website here.
The Big Event, Exeter
Dates of event: June 2025 (date TBC)
Location: Westpoint, Exeter
Those with mobility problems in the South West of England can attend the annual Big Event, Exeter. Attendees will be able to discover everything you need to know about worry-free motoring with the Motability Scheme.
The free-to-attend event will display wheelchair-accessible vehicles and other mobility products, such as powered wheelchairs, that visitors can learn about.
In previous years, visitors have been able to look at more than 80 cars and wheelchair accessible vehicles, over 30 scooters and powered wheelchairs as well as get advice from a number of experts in the field.
Attendees are even able to test drive a wide range of vehicles, including Electric Vehicles at the show. You can test drive both as a driver or passenger with a qualified professional driver.
Visit the event page website here.
Mobility events in July
PMG Conference
Dates of event: July 2025 (date TBC)
Location: The International Centre, Telford
Posture & Mobility Group’s annual conference is an industry exhibition and networking event. It also offers an educational programme for a multi-disciplinary group of professionals working in the field of posture and wheeled mobility, including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, rehabilitation engineers and clinical scientists.
The PMG Conference focuses on the postural and mobility needs of wheelchair users and delegates can learn about manual and powered wheelchairs, special seating, postural management, pressure care and assistive technology.
The 2025 event will include lots of sessions that are of interest to people working with older people. Previous events have included sessions about pressure mapping for cushions, dystonia, and sustainability within the field of powered mobility.
You can join the PMG mailing list for up-to-date information about the event.
Visit the event page website here.
Disability Awareness Day
Dates of event: July 2025 (date TBC)
Location: Walton Hall Gardens, Warrington
The annual Disability Awareness Day (DAD) has been running since 1992 and is recognised as the world’s largest voluntary-led disability exhibition and family fun day covering physical, sensory and learning disabilities and mental health, for all ages.
The show has three main aims:
- To highlight the statutory, private or voluntary services available to enable disabled people to stay independent.
- To promote new equipment and aids that can improve independence.
- To highlight what disabled people can do in the field of sport, arts and entertainment.
Visitors to the event can expect to see over 250 exhibitors covering sectors such as equipment suppliers, transport, holidays, leisure, employment, support groups and services. There will also be a sports zone including scuba diving, an arts marquee and family entertainment. The event is free and will be open from 10am-4.30pm.
Visit the event page website here.
Disability Expo
Dates of event: July 2025 (date TBC)
Location: ExCeL London
The Disability Expo is one of the UK’s leading person-focused events for people with lived experience of disability.
At the event, visitors can learn about relevant services, products and information that organisers of the Disability Expo hope will empower you with the tools you need to improve your quality of life.
Hundreds of exhibitors showcase their latest innovations in independent living, mobility aids/technologies, services and advice from charities/organisations. There is also an accessible place where you can network with like-minded people and share your experiences, as well as a full event programme of speakers, activities, performances, and presentations.
Mobility events in August
The Big Event, Harrogate
Dates of event: August 2025 (date TBC)
Location: Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate
Held at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate, the Big Event, Harrogate provides you with the perfect opportunity to discover everything you need to know about worry-free motoring with Motability.
At this year’s event, there will be over 65 cars and wheelchair-accessible vehicles that you can look at, and you will even get the opportunity to test drive adapted and standard production cars. There will be an indoor scooter test drive area to try out different products in a safe space, and there are set to be more than 30 powered wheelchairs and scooters on display.
There is a new Electric Vehicle Info Hub, and this area will give visitors a chance to discover if an electric vehicle is right for them.
At the event, there will be Motability Scheme Advisors available to answer any questions you have about the scheme or in the different driving adaptations that are available.
Visit the event page website here.
Events calendar
Book a scooter or wheelchair for an event
Event Mobility is a charity which provides electric scooters and manual wheelchairs at events all over the UK and Europe to help people with disabilities and temporary mobility impairments to enjoy a day out with their families.
The charity is set to be present at major events throughout 2024/25 and you can see Event Mobility’s programme here.
Related mobility articles
Are you interested in more mobility-related content from Age Co Mobility? Take a read of some other articles on the blog.
- How accessible is the UK?
- How accessible are the UK’s train stations?
- Age Co Mobility's worldwide attractions accessibility guide
- Every Premier League team ranked by accessibility
- The world's most accessible music festivals
This article was brought to you by Handicare, working with Age Co, who provide a range of home mobility products such as stairlifts, homelifts and bathing solutions. For more information about how they can help make your home more accessible, please get in touch.
Image Credit: Jonathan Clover, Kidz to Adultz Exhibitions, Naidex, Disability Awareness Day, PMG Conference, The Big Event, PMG Conference.
This news article is from Handicare UK. Articles that appear on this website are for information purposes only and are up to date as of the time of publishing
