Planning For A Festival - The Do's And Don'ts

For many of us, summer festivals are a highlight of the year, drawing crowds from all over the country and beyond.

From music and food to arts and culture, these events offer something for everyone.

Trust me when I say planning a successful festival is no small feat. We've planned and managed countless summer events for clients throughout my career all of which required meticulous organisation, creativity and a keen understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Big Church Festival is one of these amazing festivals I personally contributed to: www.bigchurchfestival.com

Whether you're a seasoned event planner like us or a first-timer, this guide will walk you through the essential do's and don'ts of planning a summer festival in the UK.

The Do's

1. Start Planning Early

Festivals are complex events that require months, if not years, of preparation.

From securing permits to booking artists, early planning ensures you have enough time to address challenges and avoid last-minute stress.

To avoid as many pitfalls as possible, I'd always recommend creating a detailed timeline with milestones for each stage of planning. Include deadlines for booking vendors, marketing and those all-important ticket sales.

2. Choose the Right Location

The location sets the tone for your festival. It needs to be accessible, spacious and suitable for the type of event you're hosting.

Look beyond how it looks and consider factors like its transport links, parking facilities and local amenities.

Visit potential sites to assess their suitability and ensure they can accommodate your expected crowd size.

3. Understand Your Audience

The type of festival your planning will appeal to certain demographics. Knowing your target audience helps you tailor the festival experience to their preferences, ensuring higher attendance and satisfaction.

Conduct surveys or research similar events to understand what your audience wants. Are they looking for family-friendly activities, niche music genres, or gourmet food options?

4. Secure Permits and Licenses

Festivals require various permits, including those for alcohol, food vendors and entertainment. Failure to secure these can lead to fines or event shutdowns.

To help smooth the process, work with local authorities to identify the necessary permits and apply well in advance. Obviously, please ensure you comply with health and safety regulations.

5. Create a Realistic Budget

Festivals can be expensive and costs can quickly spiral out of control without proper financial planning.

As part of the planning process outline all potential expenses, including venue rental, artist fees, marketing and staffing. Include a contingency fund for unexpected costs (there always will be some).

6. Book Talent and Vendors Early

Popular artists and vendors get booked up quickly, especially during the summer season when a raft of festivals across the world are in full swing.

Reach out to performers, food vendors and other suppliers as early as possible. Negotiate contracts and confirm availability well in advance.

7. Focus on Sustainability

With growing awareness of environmental issues, attendees rightfully expect festivals to be eco-friendly.

Photo by Globelet Reusable on Unsplash

Implement measures like recycling stations, reusable cups and biodegradable packaging. Where possible, I'd suggest partnering with local organisations to offset your carbon footprint. Be sure to include your eco-credentials on you website.

8. Invest in Marketing

Even the best-planned festival won’t succeed if people don’t know about it.

To extend the reach of your campaigns, use a mix of traditional and digital marketing strategies.

Leverage social media, email campaigns and influencer partnerships to reach your target audience from every angle.

9. Prioritise Health and Safety

Large crowds pose potential risks, from accidents to medical emergencies.

Make sure you hire trained security personnel and medical staff. Conduct diligent and thorough risk assessments and create an emergency response plan.

Incidentally, I've previously wrote a blog dedicated to event safety and security which you can read here.

10. Engage with the Local Community

Whilst the event will be contained within a location, festivals can have a significant impact on local residents and businesses. It's always worth building positive relationships with the wider community early on. This will ensure support and minimises complaints.

Communicate with the community about your plans. Offer local businesses opportunities to sponsor or participate and address any concerns they may have early and communicate them widely.

The Don'ts

1. Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Weather

You probably don't need me to tell you that the UK’s summer weather can be unpredictable, and rain or extreme heat can ruin the experience. Obviously you won't know what the weather will be like until a few days before the event, it's always worth designing your spaces / stages to work in both good and bad weather.

If worst comes to worst, have contingency plans in place, such as marquees or indoor spaces. Provide shaded areas and water stations for hot days.

2. Don’t Overlook Accessibility

Festivals should be inclusive, ensuring everyone can enjoy the event regardless of physical ability.

Ensure the venue is wheelchair accessible and provide facilities like accessible toilets and viewing platforms.

3. Don’t Ignore Noise Regulations

Listening to loud music in a field is what a festival is about, but excessive noise can lead to complaints from local residents and even legal action.

Work with your sound engineers to comply with local noise ordinances. Consider sound barriers or curfews to minimise disruption. Your permits will have all the rules listed on them.

4. Don’t Skimp on Staffing

Understaffing can lead to long queues, poor customer service and ultimately serious safety issues.

Please make sure you hire enough staff and volunteers to manage all aspects of the festival, from ticketing to crowd control.

5. Don’t Forget About Waste Management

For all the good things that come out of a festival, they also generate a lot of waste. Poor management can harm the environment and create a negative impression.

Provide ample recycling and trash bins. Hire a waste management company to handle cleanup during and after the event.

6. Don’t Overcomplicate the Layout

A confusing layout can frustrate attendees and lead to overcrowding in certain areas.

Design a clear, intuitive layout with well-marked signage. Ensure pathways are wide enough to accommodate large crowds.

7. Don’t Neglect Ticketing and Entry Management

Long queues and ticketing issues can create a poor first impression, whilst everyone will expect some queues to enter the festival, if people wait too long, this will lead to frustation early on.

Use a reliable ticketing platform and implement efficient entry systems, such as QR codes, e-tickets or wristbands.

8. Don’t Overpromise and Underdeliver

Failing to meet expectations can damage your reputation and discourage attendees from returning, especially if this is planned to be the first festival in a annual series.

Be realistic about what you can achieve. Focus on delivering a high-quality experience rather than overloading the schedule.

9. Don’t Ignore Feedback

Attendee feedback is invaluable for improving future events. As much work as you can put into the planning, nothing will be more useful than feedback from those who attended and lived it first-hand.

Collect as much feedback as possible through surveys or social media. Analyse the data and make necessary adjustments for next year.

10. Don’t Forget to Have Fun

Planning a festival is stressful, trust me, but it’s also an opportunity to create something memorable and enjoyable for clients, attendees and you too!

Take time to appreciate your hard work and try to enjoy the event. Your enthusiasm will resonate with attendees and contribute to the festival’s success.

Case Study: Glasto!

To illustrate these principles in action, let’s look at the Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK’s most iconic summer events that occurs annually (or sometimes bi-annually) at Worthy Farm in Somerset.

For it's size and calibre of artists it can secure, and not forgetting it takes place on a working farm, Glastonbury excels in several areas:

• Early Planning: The festival is planned not months but years in advance, with tickets when finally released often selling out within minutes of release.

• Sustainability: Glastonbury has a strong focus on environmental initiatives, including banning single-use plastics and promoting public transport.

• Community Engagement: The festival works closely with local residents and businesses, ensuring mutual benefits.

• Diverse Lineup: By catering to a wide range of musical and artistic tastes, Glastonbury attracts a diverse audience.

Whilst obviously not every festival can be on the scale of Glastonbury, as I hope I've shown these basic principles can be applied to events of any size including yours!

Conclusion

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." - Colossians 3:23

There's no denying that planning a summer festival is both challenging and rewarding.

By following the do's and avoiding the don'ts, you can create an event that delights attendees, supports the local community and leaves a lasting positive impact on everyone who attended.

Remember, the key to success lies in careful planning, attention to detail and a commitment to delivering an unforgettable experience.

So, whether you’re organising a small local fair or a large-scale music festival, keep these tips in mind and you'll be on the path to creating a fantastic event.

With the right approach, your event could become the highlight of someone's summer calendar. Happy planning! #BelieveInSuccess

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Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope that if you're planning your own event, it has provided you with some value. I'd also be keen to know what you think. If you're an event planner, have I missed anything? What do you think are the most important aspects of an event? What advice would you give yourself if you could go back and plan your first event again? Let me know in the comments below.

Here at P45 we specialise in event planning so if you need a partner to help create an incredible festival, awards ceremony or any other event, our team has the creativity, knowledge and experience to bring it to life. Get in touch and let's have a conversation about how we can create something special together.

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