As Philadelphia moves forward with plans for its busy 2026, advocates for people with disabilities are questioning whether the city will do enough to make the events accessible.
Vicki Landers, founder of the advocacy group Disability Pride Pennsylvania, pointed to the annual Christmas Village in Dilworth Park as reason for doubt. She said the month-long festivity is wracked with issues for people with mobility issues, neurological disorders or hearing and vision impairments.
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The ground is uneven and booths are too high or too cramped for wheelchair users to approach, she said. There's also a lack of navigation for people with vision impairments and no accessible restrooms.
"These are not minor oversights, these are barriers, literal and figurative, that prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in city life," Landers said. "This is not just about one event, this is about the city's systematic failure to enforce its own disability policies."
Landers raised this issue Tuesday at City Council hearing on improving accessibility for people with disabilities ahead of next year, when the city hosts FIFA World Cup matches, an accompanying fan festival, the MLB All-Star Game and celebrations for America's 250th birthday. Advocates expressed concerns about transportation — including a lack of accessible subway stations and experiences being dropped off far from event entrances by rideshare drivers — as well as problems with signage and wayfinding.
Approximately [17% of Philadelphia residents](https://www.phila.gov/departments/office-for-people-with-disabilities/resources/#:~:text=Licenses%20and%20Inspections.-,Disability%20characteristics%20in%20Philadelphia,our%20city%20and%20its%20people.) have some form of disability, and many at the hearing weren't confident in their ability to participate in 2026 festivities based on their experiences with other city events.
Yvonne Hughes, the vice chair commissioner for the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, recalled being forced to walk multiple blocks to the Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring, because the vehicle her group took was not allowed to get close to the entrance.
"If you think sometimes there are a lot of us with a disability who don't participate, it's because we don't feel that you want us to participate, because it's not accessible," said Hughes, who is visually impaired.
Vendors working for the city must comply with the federal Americans with Disability Act, which has requirements about ramps, accessible restrooms, signage and transportation options. Earlier this year, the city's Office for People with Disabilities also created a best practice guide for ADA compliance to share with vendors and contractors, director Adrienne Moore said.
Per that requirement, Lincoln Financial Field, where World Cup matches will be held, already has ADA drop-off areas and complimentary wheelchairs, plus a sensory room for neurodivergent people. FIFA is also testing additional accessibility options for people with hearing impairments. At Lemon Hill Park, the site of FIFA Fan Fest, pathways are being reconstructed and ADA-compliant ramps are being added. The festival grounds also will have sensory-friendly areas.
Michael Newmuis, the director of Philadelphia 2026, the group overseeing the city's 2026 events, also said there will be sensory-friendly zones and kits at other festivities, but he did not provide additional details about what those would look like.
The city also is preparing to make its infrastructure more accessible. The Philadelphia Streets Department will begin milling the area around Lemon Hill and add bump outs and curb modifications by late fall. Similar work is planned for the Sports Complex, Old City and the intersections around Independence Mall.
And since 2023, about 13,200 city employees have completed a sensory inclusion training program.
Many vendors present an accessibility plan during the planning stages of an event, Moore said, and if they don't comply with regulations, they run the risk of being fined and not getting additional contracts or permits from the city.
However, some of the city's representatives at Tuesday's meeting were unable to answer questions about compliance, including where complaints could be filed or whether there's a standard process for violations. Also, several questions were deferred to the city's special events department, which did not have a member present.
According to Landers, accessibility is "not even part of the conversation" in the planning stages and event producers frequently violate accessibility standards without facing consequences.
"There's no required accessibility plan, no checklist, no mechanism for proactive inclusion. It's not even an afterthought, it's just absent," Landers said. "It's not the fault of individual organizers. That failure sits squarely on the city of Philadelphia. By not embedding accessibility into the event application and approval process, the city is effectively giving permission for exclusion."
Councilmember Kendra Brooks, who hosted the hearing, said speaking with people with disabilities is the first step toward ensuring next year's celebrations are inclusive. The next move is figuring out how to address some of their concerns.
"We just need to make sure that we're holding people accountable and responsible to these communities by listening to their needs and addressing them to make sure that all the festivities for 2026 are accessible to all Philadelphians," Brooks said in an interview after the meeting. "They're all people that want to participate."