Short answer: accessibility at an event is not a matter of good intentions, it is a handful of measurements. Under TS 9111, the Turkish accessibility standard, an entrance ramp may rise at 1:12 (8%) where the level difference is 15 cm or less, 1:14 (7%) between 16 and 50 cm, 1:16 (6%) between 51 and 100 cm, and 1:20 (5%) above 100 cm. Landings at the top and bottom must be at least 150 x 150 cm, and any ramp longer than 900 cm needs an intermediate landing. An accessible route must be at least 90 cm wide, and 150 cm where two wheelchairs pass side by side. For seating, the Turkish standard sets no ratio tied to seat count, so the industry reference is the 2010 ADA table: 4 wheelchair spaces for 51 to 150 seats, 5 for 151 to 300, 6 for 301 to 500. The scale of the audience is documented too. WHO's 2022 report on health equity puts the number of people living with significant disability at 1.3 billion, roughly 16% of the world population. In Turkey, TÜİK's Population and Housing Survey found that 6.9% of the population aged 3 and over, some 4,876,000 people, has at least one disability. In a dealer meeting for 500 guests, that share stops being abstract. Below are the measurements to take on a site visit, the toilet and parking maths, what changes on stage and at the lectern, and the inspection regime created by Law No. 5378.
Five things to measure on the site visit
A phone measuring app will not do. Bring a tape. TS 9111 sets the clear width of an accessible route at 90 cm minimum. The annex adds the passing dimensions: 150 cm for two wheelchairs side by side, 120 cm for a wheelchair user next to someone walking. Door clear width with the leaf open at 90 degrees must be at least 90 cm for interior doors, and the standard asks for a landing of at least 150 x 150 cm in front of the door. Any level change over 1.3 cm on the route needs a ramp, kerb ramp, lift or platform lift, and the standard says the route itself must contain no steps or stairs. Cross slope must never exceed 1:50 (2%), because lateral slope turns the front castors and unsettles a manual wheelchair. Two spots trip up almost every venue: the three centimetre threshold at the ballroom door, and the single step between foyer and hall. Both are fixable on build day, not on show morning.
What ramp slope is allowed? The TS 9111 table
Table 1 of the standard caps entrance ramps by height gained. Up to 15 cm the maximum is 1:12 (8%); between 16 and 50 cm it is 1:14 (7%); between 51 and 100 cm it is 1:16 (6%); above 100 cm it is 1:20 (5%). Clear ramp width is 90 cm minimum, 100 cm preferred, and at least 100 cm in buildings open to public use. Handrails on both sides are required once the horizontal run passes 200 cm or the rise passes 15 cm. Landings at the start and end cannot be smaller than 150 x 150 cm, ramps longer than 900 cm and ramps that change direction must be broken by intermediate landings, and those landings are held to the same 150 x 150 cm. An edge kerb of at least 5 cm goes on any unprotected side. Worked example: a ramp up to a stage 40 cm high sits in the 16 to 50 cm band, so 7% is the ceiling. Divide 40 by 0.07 and you need 571 cm of ramp, plus a 150 cm landing at each end, about 8.7 metres of floor. Reserve that space while you are drawing the stage plan. A ramp added later ends up in the foyer.
How many wheelchair spaces does a hall need?
The Turkish standard gives no seat-count ratio for audience halls. Where TS 9111 does set a percentage is library reading areas, at least 5% of fixed seats and work stations. The count most planners fall back on comes from Table 221.2.1.1 of the 2010 ADA Standards in the United States: 1 wheelchair space for 4 to 25 seats, 2 for 26 to 50, 4 for 51 to 150, 5 for 151 to 300, 6 for 301 to 500, then 6 plus 1 for every 150 seats between 501 and 5,000, and 36 plus 1 for every 200 seats above 5,000. The same standard sizes the space: 915 mm wide minimum for a single space, 840 mm each where two are adjacent, with a depth of 1,220 mm minimum for front or rear entry and 1,525 mm where the space can only be entered from the side. Two practical notes. Put a companion seat next to each wheelchair space. Spread the spaces near the stage, mid-hall and at the back rather than clustering them, because putting all six spaces of a 400-guest gala in the last row is separation, not access.
How many accessible toilets per guest?
Clause 4.7.3 of TS 9111 gives the ratio outright. In public buildings such as cinemas and theatres, one female and one male toilet are required per 50 people at most, and per 25 people in offices, shopping arcades, stores, hotels and similar buildings, plus at least one female and one male accessible toilet on top of that. The dimensions assume an outward-opening door: clear floor space of 122 x 167.5 cm for a front approach, 122 x 142 cm for a right side approach, and 150 x 142 cm where the approach is both front and left side. The centre line of the WC sits at least 46 cm from the side wall, the clear width at the pan is 92 cm minimum, and seat height falls between 43 and 48 cm. For an outdoor event, ask for the accessible portable cabin as a separate line in the quote. The cabin alone is not enough: the ground has to be firm and level, and the route to it has to meet the accessible route dimensions. An accessible cabin in the middle of a muddy field is accessible on paper only.
Parking, drop-off and the route to the door
TS 9111 places accessible parking no more than 30 metres from the building entrance, with enough room to get in and out of the car. Where a single space is provided, it must be at least 400 cm wide and 600 cm long. Where there are several, each is at least 250 cm wide and 600 cm long, with a clear transfer aisle 150 cm wide and 600 cm long alongside, parallel to the car. Any level difference between that aisle and the parking surface is limited to 1:50. Covered parking needs 250 cm clear height, and 260 cm is preferred so van conversions fit. The route from the space to the footway must not cross vehicle traffic or pass between parked cars, and night lighting has to be adequate. At gala nights with valet service, rope the spaces off and sign them. Once the valet team starts filling the lot, these are the first spaces to disappear.
What changes at the lectern, the stage and the sound desk
The standard is specific about counters. At ticket desks, registration, information and enquiry counters, a section of the main counter at least 90 cm long must sit no higher than 86 cm, or an auxiliary counter at that height must stand next to it, with a maneuvering area of at least 150 x 150 cm in front. If you are building an awards night, design the route onto the stage and the lectern height with two options from the start; handing the trophy over at the edge of the stage is not a solution. On the hearing side, clause B.1.3 of TS 9111 calls for wide induction loop systems in meeting halls and auditoriums of every kind. For receiver counts the ADA table is a usable scale: 2 receivers up to 50 seats, 2 plus 1 per 25 seats over 50 in the 51 to 200 band, 20 plus 1 per 33 seats over 500 in the 501 to 1,000 band, and one in four receivers hearing-aid compatible. Where simultaneous interpretation is already installed, the same channel infrastructure can carry assistive listening. If a Turkish Sign Language interpreter is working, give them a dedicated spotlight, a locked-off camera and a permanent area on the side screen. When the stage goes dark, the interpreter disappears with it.
The legal frame: Law No. 5378, TS 9111 and inspection
The frame is Law No. 5378 on Persons with Disabilities. Article 7 requires compliance with accessibility standards in planning, design, construction, manufacturing, permitting and inspection processes so that the built environment is accessible. Provisional Article 2 required existing official buildings, roads, pavements, open and green areas, and every kind of privately built structure serving the public to be made accessible within eight years of the law taking effect, a deadline that expired long ago. Inspection runs through provincial commissions chaired by the governor or a deputy governor under the Accessibility Monitoring and Inspection Regulation. Private persons and private legal entities found not to have met their obligations face an administrative fine of 1,000 to 5,000 lira per finding, capped at 50,000 lira within a year; for municipalities and other public bodies the band is 5,000 to 25,000 lira per finding with a 500,000 lira annual ceiling. Those are the nominal figures written into the law in 2012, and under Article 17 of the Misdemeanours Law administrative fines are uprated each calendar year by the official revaluation rate. Licensing matters too: Article 5 of the Regulation on Business Opening and Operating Licences lists measures easing entry and exit for people with disabilities among the general conditions a licensed premises must meet. The fine lands on the building owner, meaning the venue. The organiser owns the temporary layout: stage, ramps, marquee, registration area and evacuation plan.
A checklist for show day
Add one line to the registration form: any access requirements, and of what kind. Collecting answers is not the point, acting on them is. Publish the venue's access facts in the invitation: is there an entrance ramp, how many accessible parking spaces, which floor the accessible toilet is on, how wide the lift door is. Measure on build day. Cable ramps over every crossing, tape on carpet joints, nothing stored on ramp landings. Companion seat beside each wheelchair space, and a route behind it that service staff do not use. Name a waiting area for wheelchair users in the evacuation plan and a person responsible for it. The emergency annex of TS 9111 asks for most audible alarms to sit in the 85 to 95 dB band, and for flashing wayfinding lights to pulse slowly and in sync with each other so they do not trigger an epileptic seizure. Brief the welcome team for ten minutes. The most common failure is not a missing ramp, it is a ramp that leads to a locked door. Tales Event is based in Istanbul and runs stage, sound, lighting and LED screen production with a single crew for dealer meetings, launches, openings, gala nights and graduation ceremonies across Turkey. Send us your venue and guest count and we will produce the accessibility check alongside the build plan.
Let's talk about your event
Tell us your idea and we will prepare the concept and quote.