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The Boyfriend and I enter Trafalgar Square. It's a bright sunny day and the whole space is bustling with people. We pass the information stall and the Arts Tent, where there will be Family Arts workshops with disabled artists throughout the day.

We head down the steps to the empty Viewing Area in front of the large stage and grab a couple of plastic white chairs. By the time Liberty begins, the Viewing Area is packed full of disabled people, deaf people and funny-looking people. As Dorothy would say, there's no place like home!

They are followed by soul singer Minika Green, who sings a selection of songs from her album. I've heard Minika sing before and she never fails to impress me with her powerful voice and command of the stage. Move over, Whitney!

Next up is Caroline Parker, a sign song artist well known in the disability arts circuit. She is an incredibly charismatic performer. I can't take my eyes off her - and not just because she is wearing bright pink trousers. Her signing adds extra layers of depth (and humour) to the songs, and her signing to the classic I Will Survive is definitely a favourite with the women in the audience.

In front of the Viewing Area is a man with a video camera filming the stage. These pictures are then shown on the large screen at the left-hand side of the stage. Behind me, to the left, is a small tent with two palantypists, who will be typing all speeches and song lyrics on to the screen.

I wasn't able to attend last year's Liberty festival. I'd heard there had been some access problems, but things must have improved judging from the amount of access information in their booklet. There's audio description, accessible toilets, stewards to assist, a medical area, a wheelchair loan service and accessible lifts. There's even an assistance dogs area available "to allow dogs to 'spend' hygienically", apparently. Quite what they mean by 'spend' is anyone's guess, but I'm sure the area is much appreciated! Parking is still a problem though, which means that many disabled drivers who need to park close to the venue won't be able to attend.

Opened by comperes Mat Fraser and , the event kicks off in blazing sunshine with music by The 1st Chancers, three young rap artists based at Hammersmith and Fulham Action on Disability. To some really funky beats, the lead rapper, Big G, works the audience as she gets them to join in with the chorus: "London is the place to live, London is the place to live, yo!" It's great to see these young talented performers up on the stage, having a good time.

The next performance is by , organised by the . The four women, two of whom are wheelchair users, perform Garba, Bhangra and other traditional Asian dance styles with fantastic energy, grace and timing.

Next on stage is , a young blind singer and songwriter, who incredibly is still only in her teens. She recently won three awards, including Merseyside's Woman of the Year, and it's not surprising when you listen to her sing. She has an incredibly powerful voice, and reminds me of Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell and Sandy Denny. One of her best songs is the autobiographical The Fighting Kind. Susan tells us that she was born three months prematurely and the doctors didn't expect her to survive - but she did. So she wrote the song The Fighting Kind "because that's what I've always been".

The sun continues to blaze, and even more people are arriving in the Visiting Area to watch the acts. I'm glad I bought a bottle of water with me, as I'm feeling slightly dehydrated, but I have a distinct feeling I've forgotten to do something this morning ...

Anyway, it's 2.00pm and the entire audience is turning around 180 degrees to watch Amphitheatre of the Arts present Cirque Nova on an aerial rig above the main steps. They perform Kathak and African dance combined with circus skills in their performance about living with HIV and AIDS. I'll never forget the image of the female dancer in a long red dress twirling above the steps of Trafalgar Square underneath beautiful clear blue skies.

The audience then turns 180 degrees back to the stage to watch Francesca Martinez in her stand-up routine. But there is nothing routine about her act, which I find mischievously funny and spot on with its observations on the strange ideas people have about disability. Francesca tells us about how, even at school, she was asked if she was able to have sex: "I thought, I'm only 11 ... and you shouldn't be asking me that, Sir!" I start turning into a bit of a Mary Whitehouse at some of her colourful language, but end up laughing so hard that I don't care how blue the air turns.

Feeling a bit hot, I start on what turns out to be the first of many ice-lollies. Thank God for the plastic seats - I wouldn't have been able to cope without them. And thank you Liberty for the big yellow information booklets, which I spend the next three hours holding up in the air to shield my face from the bright sun. Phew, it's hot out here! Talking of hot, Minika Green and Caroline Parker both return to the stage, accompanied by Minika's rather foxy dancer - complete with bushy tail (you had to be there) - to perform Divas, a newly commissioned collaboration. These three women could teach J-Lo one or two things about how to be a sultry diva. They perform classics like My Baby Just Cares for Me, Fever, Young Hearts Run Free and Tina Turner's Let's Stay Together. These vivacious ladies are bigger divas than Dietrich, shake more booty than Beyonce, and have more costume changes than Cher!

It's time for the speeches. David Morris from the and Trish Pashley, the Chief Executive of (both disabled), talk about the continuing fight for disability rights. It reminds us of why we're here - not just for great entertainment, but to come together to show London that we are still proud, angry and strong. As David Morris says in his speech, "Disabilism has absolutely no place in our capital".

It's mid-afternoon, and I'm feeling very hot. I've finished my water and I'm on to my second ice-lolly. Now, what was it I was meant to do before I left the house this morning? Before I can remember, I realise that Laurence Clark is about to come on stage to perform an excerpt from his stand-up show, The Jim Davidson Guide to Equality, fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe. Mat Fraser comes on first, however, just to double check that Jim Davidson is not in the audience - "and if you are here, Jim, you can piss off!"

Laurence's observational comedy makes me roar with laughter and nod in empathy, from his experiences on inaccessible trains where the snack trolley gets more respect than the wheelchair users, to his wife's time at special school when she was forced to do wheelchair dancing to - God forgive them - Dire Straits.

Following Laurence is , joint winner of Channel 4's Operatunity series, accompanied by Murray Hipkin. I'm not usually a fan of opera but her voice is amazing, and I'm not the only one to be impressed. Every time she hits a really loud high note, I can hear several members of the audience behind me exclaiming "Oooh!" and "Blimey! That was good!"

It's good to see such a mixture of different performances at the festival. I wonder how many non-disabled people are watching all of this thinking, "I didn't know they could sing, dance and be funny!"

Just an hour left to go and I'm dying for some shade. But I daren't move in case someone nicks my chair! I pray that a cloud will appear in the sky and move across the sun so that I might have some shade for a few minutes. Perhaps a nice big ice-cream will cool me down?It's the last hour now and up on stage is Sidiki Conde, a dancer, drummer and singer from West Africa, and the founder of the in New York. Joined by three other drummers and a dancer, their music and their dancing are energised, funky and very, very loud.

And finally, the last performance is from Lyrical Rebelz, a hip-hop group from Action Disability Kensington and Chelsea, who end the show with some terrific rapping.

The Liberty festival is over, and it's time for me and The Boyfriend to leave for home. Four ice-lollies, one ice-cream, two cheese and pickle sandwiches and three Cokes later, we pick up our bags and head out of Trafalgar Square with big smiles on our faces. We've enjoyed every minute of the festival and the five hours just flew by.

As soon as we get home, The Boyfriend points at my arms. "Ha!" he laughs. "You're a little cherubic lobster!" I look down at my bright red sunburnt skin, and that's when I finally recall what it was that I forgot to do that morning - put on suntan lotion.

Photos: All images by C. Wright - "The Boyfriend".