In an effort to differentiate the music festival experience from the competition many organisers have added extra attractions to their events in order to spice things up a bit. What is involved in getting these additional attractions organised and what is currently proving popular.

Croatia is located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe on the Adriatic Sea and is well known for its great summer weather and continues to be a popular tourist destination. The number of summer visitors has spawned a thriving music festival season for the small European country with a wide choice for festival-goers to choose from.

One of the biggest headaches in organising any music festival is the management of performance artists along with stage management and show production. It takes time and with so many logistical factors hinging on good artist management is it worth considering outsourcing this to a reputable third party?

As the music festival industry took a big financial hit during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic with most events cancelled and full-time staff laid off. The industry is slowly trying to come back but the employment landscape has changed for those either working for, or keen to start a career in, the music festival sector.

Music festivals by their nature are usually located on remote sites or fields with little or no infrastructure. With multi-day tickets costing upwards of £200 it is very tempting for people to attempt access to a festival site and is still a common occurrence at most music festivals. What steps do organisers take to secure their festival site?  

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Any large-scale music festival will always require some significant logistical planning and one of the most complex tasks is the backstage hospitality planning. With so many artists and support crews to manage squeezed into tight timescales careful management is essential. What are the typical aspects to consider in planning the backstage hospitality?

Portugal is located on the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain and is well known for its beaches and warmer Algarve climate. Similarly to its neighbour Spain, Portugal is becoming a popular destination for music festival-goers and has secured some great summer music festivals that are worth checking out.

With research on the music festival sector predicting substantial growth in the popularity of music festivals over the next ten years is now a good time to invest in a music festival. Anything related to entertainment and live events has had a history of high risk but with that comes potential high rewards. 

This topic will get raised with increasing importance as music festivals start opening up again and will continue to be one of the biggest challenges for music festival organisers. Despite the global lockdown of live events since early 2020 the interest and media attention regarding environmental sustainability has increased rapidly.

The whole global live events sector has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic but as some sense of normality is seen returning on the horizon what will music festivals look like in the coming years?  

It's been a tough two years for staff and volunteers involved in the festival sector. With ongoing uncertainly, it is becoming more important to keep staff and volunteers motivated in their roles and boost their mental health too. What steps can festival organisers take to motivate their full-time staff and any volunteers in waiting.

Spain is a fabulous holiday destination for millions of tourists every year with its variety of climates, landscapes and islands with most heading to the Mediterranean beaches in the south. Steeped in history Spain has a plethora of cultural festivals as well as some popular growing music festivals.  

Successful music festivals can sometimes be limited in the way they expand their business because of the physical site location or other factors that limit dates. If a music festival has a strong brand and built a solid reputation and following it may be time to consider expanding that brand to new editions of the music festival. 

The variety of music festivals available to attend around the world is huge with most countries having a wide selection for festival-goers to choose from. Traditionally the most popular music festivals follow a set format of mixed genre artists performing on stages set up in remote fields spread over three or four days.  

The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge detrimental effect on professional musicians around the world. Some have survived with live streaming performances perhaps combined with the creation of new material but now there are opportunities for artists to get back to performing live at music festivals again.  

How a music festival is presented to its target audience can have a significant impact on the financial success of that event. What steps should music festival organisers take to make their event more professional in every way to enhance their business efficiency and overall brand persona.        

France is not really known as a music festival destination but there are some noteworthy festivals taking place each year. France is one of Europe's largest countries and a very popular destination for tourists particularly the Côte d'Azur in the southern warm Mediterranean climate which attracts hordes of visitors each year. 

As music festivals tentatively emerge from the coronavirus pandemic announcing dates for late summer 2021 it is vital for festival organisers to create a risk assessment prior to their festival dates. This assessment is going to be a key part of the planning process and will act as part of the contingency plan for COVID-19 related issues.          

For any bar or catering establishment that wants to try their hand at providing food and beverages to festival-goers the first step is to secure a suitable vendor pitch. The allocated pitch is often just a vacant space with a provision for the supply of water and electricity. The pop-up bar or catering facility is usually the easiest way to occupy any allocated vendor pitch space.   

It can be difficult for people to get a permanent job working for a major music festival but there are not-for-profit organisations in the UK that do their best to give young people experience and increase their chances of securing their desired job. 

It goes without saying that if new stricter protocols are required for live events that this will impact on the resources needed to manage them. Music festival organisers should be planning now to increase the number of volunteers they recruit and train rather than leaving it until the last minute. 

Belgium is a relatively small country but has to be included in any music festival destination guide because it hosts one of Europe's largest and most well-known music festivals: Tomorrowland. An EDM festival held in Boom, Flanders, it stretches over two weekends and attracts well over 400,000 visitors each year. 

There are numerous reasons why festival-goers may want to bring their dog to a music festival with the main motivation being that their pet is part of the family. Bringing a pet dog to a music festival because the owners cannot find suitable kennels or care is probably not the best reason to bring a dog. 

There is a perception that festival-goers are just a bunch of youngsters fresh out of school or university. The under 25’s probably make up the bulk of the music festival attendee community but what are the real demographics for the UK’s most popular music festivals and at what age do people give up? 

The merchandise favourite has always been the T-shirt and for decades has its roots as a rock band souvenir. Whilst the artist themed T-shirt is still the most popular piece of merchandise sold music festival branded apparel is becoming more sought after and festival organisers should be maximising this revenue stream. 

The media coverage in recent months has seen a constant flow of depressing coverage about numerous well known large music festivals getting cancelled. They blame the coronavirus pandemic and problems associated with obtaining cancellation insurance with a lack of government action to underwrite such schemes. 

The involvement of charitable organisations and the music festival industry in the UK has existed for decades. What are the key relationships between music festivals and charities and what benefits do they bring to the festival and charities involved and how are these changing over time.

The Netherlands, also known as Holland, has a surprising number of notable music festivals with over 40 respected events to choose from. Over 1,100 festivals of all types take place each year in the Netherlands with a sizeable festival industry considering the country has a population of just over 17m. 

Anyone who is a regular festivalgoer knows only too well how expensive it can be to attend a music festival. There are numerous free to attend festivals globally every year but they are generally focused in local communities being funded by generous sponsors. Can the ‘free’ concept ever transition to a large-scale music festival? 

Despite the devastating effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the global music festival business research suggest that the prospects for music festival ticketing revenue growth over the next three years to is set to grow by 14%. This is a positive sign for surviving music festivals and should herald good times ahead as the world opens again in the coming years.