For the largest music festivals, the organisers must plan and manage hundreds of artists, multiple stages and shows plus the usual army of volunteers. Many organisers still use spreadsheets to manage logistics and schedules but surely there is an easier way to do this with the help of technology? 

The competition for vendor pitches at the most popular festivals in the UK is intense. With visitor numbers (in normal circumstances) hitting in excess of 100,000 the financial rewards for securing a pitch are huge. What steps can vendors take to get a pitch at the UK’s most sought-after events. 

Earlier this month (October 2020) various organisations got together and in conjunction with government departments have put together an essential guide for music festival organisers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance has been launched in its first iteration and will be updated monthly.  

As events look set to start up again in 2021 many organisers are into their planning process right now (October 2020). With the coronavirus taking its toll on the events industry in 2020 many event organisers have gone into a state of hibernation whilst at the same time suppliers to the industry have faced financially difficult times with many not likely to survive.        

Some of the world's largest music festivals can use an army of volunteers to make their event a success sometimes using as many as 1,000 plus to help out in various ways. There is a lot more to being a volunteer than just doing a little bit of unpaid work in exchange for free entry to the event. 

One of the keys to successful accommodation planning for music festival organisers is being able to offer a variety of accommodation with a range of budgets. With many festivals being quickly sold out it is also vital that accommodation for artists is secured early in the process to ensure availability. 

Probably one of the biggest gripes from visitors attending any music festival is the toilet facilities. Often there are not enough available and queuing always seems to be an issue along with poorly maintained facilities. What are the key steps organisers should take to ensure they provide enough clean facilities? 

A large-scale music festival can mean up to 150,000 visitors, the equivalent of a small town descending on a site for several days so the need for providing suitable coverage for medical emergencies is inevitable. Aside from being a requirement of Health and Safety regulations it is common sense to plan for the provision of suitable medial facilities and personnel. 

Everyone hopes for the return to a season of music festivals in 2021 but the reality is many organisers have made the decision to bypass next year altogether because of uncertainty. Planning for a music festival can take up to 18 months so event organisers are currently deep in the throes of planning for 2021 and one of the key aspects to plan for is the provision of onsite customer service facilities.  

Running a music festival with hundreds of artists over multiple stages for several days will test even the best project managers. With large scale events rarely will things go to plan so what can event organisers do to minimise any hiccups and present a timely, seamless and professional artist line up to satisfy event goers. 

With potentially hundreds of performance artists appearing over several days on multiple stages there is a huge challenge to get the artists organised for perfect performances. Key to ensuring smooth running and the seamless transition of act changes is having the correct specs for each and every act. 

Any large music festival will usually have multiple stages typically including two or three main stages and dozens of smaller stages. Invariably the larger main stages are for the most popular artists with smaller stages for lesser known and up and coming artists. A key element of the stage design and construction is the truss and rigging.   

Any event organiser managing a large-scale festival could face the challenge of managing in excess of 300 performance artists. How are these managed to ensure that artists turn up to the right venue and stage at the right time? The ‘Artist Advance Sheet’ has become an essential part of multiple artist management for any large event or festival.   

Wiring up the electricity supply for a large music festival can be a complex, demanding and potentially dangerous task. It takes a team of qualified and dedicated electrical engineers to connect and set up a reliable electricity supply and without doubt any music festival will not succeed without competent and successful implementation.      

As everyone accepts that any large-scale music festivals or music events will not take place until at least the middle of 2021 event organisers should be planning now to attract sponsors and vendors. It certainly makes sense to use the current quiet period to start making plans now for events to resume in 2021.        

For anyone who was working in the live events sector the prospects for work are bleak with large numbers being furloughed or losing their jobs completely. However, for those who previously worked in this sector they will have built a wide range of transferable skills and experience that can be utilised in other industries. 

For any festival that spans several days personal hygiene can be difficult to maintain for event goers due to limited access to showers and washing facilities. Many visitors would quite happily forego washing for the duration of the festival and just enjoy the atmosphere. With so many people attending a festival site it can be a breeding ground for stomach illnesses.  

Although AI is a popular buzz word right now there are some practical applications where it can be used to enhance the event visitor experience. Using AI for live events can also bring other benefits too in generating useful behavioural data to generate specific interest content. 

As all music festivals globally have cancelled their 2020 events or as a minimum gone virtual or a drastically reduced socially distanced format what are the challenges ahead for music festivals planning their 2021 events? Here are some key considerations that event organisers should be considering and planning for now. 

In an uncertain world planning a communications process for any potential crisis should form part of the planning process for event organisers of any large-scale live event where tens of thousands of event goers are present. What steps should organisers take when planning for crisis communications? 

Once an event organiser has successfully run their live event their job is not finished. There are many activities that need to take place once event goers have left the venue and gone home. From equipment breakdown to follow up communications there are a plethora of post event actions to conduct keeping organisers just as busy post event as they were pre event. 

It goes without saying that all large live events require an army of volunteers to make them happen. Indeed, many music festivals could use up to 2,000 volunteers so the management of recruitment, training and the production of shifts and duties can present a huge challenge for any event organiser. 

From small community events to large scale multi day music festivals most event organisers are using some kind of software to help plan and organise their events. There are still a handful of event organisers using a combination of spreadsheets and other planning tools but almost all have moved over to an event specific software platform.

Everyone has heard of the Oktoberfest held annually in Bavaria, one of the world's most popular and longest running festivals. The German beer festival and funfair runs for 18 days and has existed since 1810 attracting 6 million visitors each year so it's not surprising that events companies are creating their own versions of the beer festival around the world.  

There has been some discussion in the media over recent weeks regarding the development of rapid COVID-19 tests that allow results to be known within 15 minutes. Whilst still in development and currently being tested this could provide the opportunity for live events to start operating with confidence again.

While craft fairs and festivals are not usually large affairs the number of events happening each year is significant with up to 1,000 events. Typical visitor numbers vary between 500 and 1000 with a handful of festivals attracting significantly higher attendance, the number of events taking place each year is on the rise 

One of the latest innovations likely to hit music festivals in the near future is gamification. This is the use of gaming technology to increase event goer engagement for the benefit, typically, of event organisers, vendors and sponsors to generate increased traffic and purchase revenues. 

Once the preserve of small specialist events or an afterthought at music festivals the health and wellness sector has enjoyed a surge in popularity to the extent their dedicated events and festivals have grown in number and size. Now a prominent feature on the annual festival scene they are likely to continue growing in popularity 

With potential lockdowns and remote working seemingly back on the agenda anyone responsible for managing events teams will have the challenge of maintaining a motivated team. There are actions event organisers can take to ensure that the physical and mental health of their teams is maintained throughout this period.

Any music festival that attracts a sizable audience and is spread over several days will have to provide accommodation. This could vary between a field for camping to five-star luxury accommodation. How this works in practice will depend every much on the audience dynamics and their budgets.