access-i.be, the platform on accessibility in Wallonia-Brussels

This audit and certification project was made possible thanks to the invaluable support of visit.brussels.

The Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria Brussels is a fully renovated historic 5-star hotel, situated in the heart of Brussels within a Belle Époque-style building. It combines architectural prestige with modern comfort in a central location close to public transport and the city’s main attractions.

General accessibility

• The hotel offers assistance for guests with specific needs and adapted facilities for guests with reduced mobility in certain communal areas.

• A lift facilitates access to the floors and various levels of the building.

• The toilets are accessible.

Adapted rooms and facilities

• The hotel has 7 rooms for guests with reduced mobility.

• The rooms are designed to offer more space for wheelchair users, with accessible showers, washbasins and toilets fitted with folding seats and grab rails on both sides.

Access to the hotel

• The main entrance is accessible via steps at ground floor level; however, an alternative entrance is available. It is recommended that you contact the hotel before your arrival or inform the staff at the entrance to gain level access via this alternative entrance.

• The lift is available for moving between floors.

Common areas

• The hotel includes public areas (reception, lounges, restaurants, bar, spa/pool) where wheelchair access is available throughout.

Practical advice

• It is strongly recommended that you book an accessible room in advance and specify any specific requirements.

• You can ask the hotel for dedicated assistance on arrival or departure, from the street or a parking area.

Photo credits for Corinthia : © Booking, © Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria

Photo credits for the technical gallery : © Plain-Pied - Laurent Duquesne

Various Voices is an international choral festival that takes place every year in a different country.

In 2026, in Belgium and particularly in Brussels, more than 120 international choirs will be performing a series of concerts from Wednesday 24 June to Sunday 29 June. These concerts will take place in the following venues: the Henry Leboeuf Hall or M at Bozar, in Auditorium 490 (Magritte Museum), at the Royal Circus, La Madeleine and, on Sunday, at the ING Arena.

Other activities are planned in Brussels city centre (free street concerts at the Bourse, Place Sainte-Catherine, Mont des Arts, City Hall, etc. (see website for further details : The European LGBTQI+ Choir Festival from 23 to 28 June 2026 in Brussels – Various Voices).

As part of the Access-i certification process, only the following six concert venues – Bozar, Auditorium 490, La Madeleine, the Cirque Royal, the ING Arena and the C12 – were subject to an accessibility audit, which took into account the routes for pedestrians and public transport between these venues.

The unique feature of this event is that the audience is sometimes a choir and sometimes spectators. This is why, in the audit, we only consider accessibility from the perspective of the spectators.

Recommendations have been made to improve accessibility at each venue, but for technical reasons, it is more difficult for choristers to access the stages at the Cirque Royal, Auditorium 490 or the Bozar rehearsal rooms. For this reason, alternative entrances are being considered on festival days, with support from dedicated volunteers.

The festival organisers have taken the specific needs of choir members into account to plan the concerts as effectively as possible on stages accessible to these members.

Outside the festival, rehearsal rooms have been identified. These rehearsals will be scheduled in rooms accessible to the specific needs of the choirs. (Non-accessible rooms: Rainbow, Marsha, P Johnson, Stade Room)

A festival village is planned in the courtyard and within the BIP Meeting Centre building. The courtyard is paved, but the building is accessible. Food trucks and a bar will be there to welcome you. Toilets will be available inside the BIP building. You can find more information on the BIP’s accessibility in the following information sheet : BIP Meeting Centre.

Outside Auditorium 490, bars will be available to festival-goers during concerts, but these will not always be accessible as their operation depends directly on the venue managers.

Practical information

• The information point is located at the entrance to Auditorium 490 and will be open for the duration of the festival. This information point will be the designated location for collecting your entry pass for any of the concerts.

• Tickets for the festival must be purchased in advance, online.

• Volunteers assisting people with reduced mobility will have received prior training in welcoming people with disabilities; they will be identifiable by their Access-i vests.

• The buildings hosting the event are open during performances; it is therefore possible to leave and re-enter them.

• The festival is not confined to a specific area or a closed zone (travel between venues is via public transport or on public roads).

• Before the festival, for any questions regarding the event, a PRM coordinator can be contacted at the following address: info@various-voices.be

• During the festival, a PRM coordinator will be on hand to answer any specific questions.

• Signage will be provided via chalk markings on the ground to help you move from one venue to another.

• A bicycle taxi service will be available upon booking.

• Each venue will have a quiet area for resting, equipped with benches/chairs and tables.

• All access information is available on the event website : Practical Information - Various Voices

• The full festival programme can be downloaded from the event website : Programme - Various Voices

• The event's website is not accessible to people with disabilities.