With some of the larger music festivals recruiting several hundred volunteers the task of managing them on-site during the festival can be challenging. What are the steps organisers can take to mitigate any potential issues and at the same time give volunteers a fair balance of work and free time?

There are numerous festivals that base themselves on a single site where capacity is almost unlimited. These large scale festivals are often based in remote locations with limited infrastructure, to overcome these issues some festival organisers opt for more urban location but split over multiple venues to cope with audience numbers. 

The jam band phenomenon has been around for some time and gained popularity in the 1960’s with The Grateful Dead by combining numerous genre styles with long improvised ‘jam’ sets. These grassroots festivals continue to be popular followed by a core group of fans and devoted followers. 

A significant number of live events from large scale festivals to smaller locally themed events take place annually in many countries. These events are organised by a small number of dedicated events staff either volunteering their time for free or within auspices of a local government organisation committed to providing a service to the local community. 

When stage pyrotechnics are used as part of any live show it will add a special wow factor adding to the experience and atmosphere for event goers. Incorporating any kind of pyrotechnics into a performance is not just simply using fireworks it’s a complex planning process that requires experience and technical ability. 

It can be daunting to manage any substantial crowd whether it's a live event at an indoor venue with finite numbers or an outdoor mega festival with over 100,000 visitors. Fortunately there is professional help available for any event organisers who don’t have the experience or resources to manage such large volumes of visitors.  

A key to providing the best quality service in a safe environment in the events industry is the quality of the training given to staff. Whether they are contractors, working for a supplier company or an event volunteer what training and certification is the most important and relevant?          

During the current coronavirus pandemic, the support and advice from industry associations has played a crucial role for anyone involved in the live events industry. Some have been more proactive and vocal than others but overall, it has been a time for members to really benefit from their membership.        

As music festival season for 2021 starts taking shape with many organisers announcing dates and line-ups its timely to remind ticket buyers of the ‘Take Your Tent Home’ initiative. Started several years ago this initiative is still relevant today as it has always been and a gentle reminder by music festival organisers will do no harm. 

A key change will take place in October 2021 regarding Allergen Guidance for the preparation and sale of food. This is particularly relevant to festival vendors who are catering for thousands of people over a few days all with slightly different dietary requirements. Vendors need to get up to speed with the new Food Standards Agency Allergen Guidance. 

With the recent coverage of the #MeToo movement the awareness of unwanted sexual harassment on women has been raised. This harassment is not confined to public figures or the entertainment sector. It is also still prevalent at music festivals around the world. What steps can festival organisers take to mitigate this unacceptable behaviour. 

There can be a distinct contrast between large professionally run music festivals and smaller festivals that may be organised in a more chaotic way. Irrespective of size of event an often-overlooked aspect of any music festival is the customer service provided to event goers. The visitor experience can influence future attendance and social feedback.

Some research suggests that in excess of 50% of music festival event goers take illegal drugs when attending a festival. What measures can festival organisers put in place to control and inform visitors about potential dangers of taking unknown substances and make their events safe and enjoyable for everyone.    

With so many potential visitors to a large music festival it is also inevitable that some security issues will be encountered. There is no reason why the actions of a few people should disrupt the success of a festival and overall enjoyment for all event goers. Having a great security process set up is vital to keeping a festival safe and secure for all.

As UK music festivals hopefully rebound later in 2021 there are the usual issues that still need to be addressed from sustainability to more inclusive audiences. There are millions of music fans and a considerable number of festival goers who are disabled in some way. What can festival organisers do to make their events more inclusive.  

Some time ago in 2019 and early 2020 music festival organisers would have been booking their contractors and suppliers. Having been relatively dormant for a year, music festival organisers confirming dates for late summer will need to double check with all their suppliers that everything can go ahead with their revised dates.  

Irrespective of their size every music festival relies on volunteers to help make their event happen. Even the smallest festivals utilise volunteers but it is the larger festivals that the management of volunteers becomes more of a challenge and the number of volunteers needed to make the event a success goes into the hundreds.

While the current status of many UK music festivals is in flux the next few weeks will be a crucial time for deciding whether or not to go ahead with an event in the late summer months. Aside from the financial considerations it is the logistics planning that could be a major deciding factor on going ahead or postponing yet again.  

With music festivals restarting from May or June it's time for music festival organisers to reactivate their operations and condense planning into three or four months. For festival organisers that put their events team on furlough it's time to bring them back to work and jump on a multitude of tasks that need to be completed quickly.  

After the recent announcement from the UK government that music festivals could resume from late June this year there has been a flurry of activity in the sector. Festival organisers with great preparation plans have been able to reactivate activities quickly with timely announcements and ticketing information. 

Although the usual route of entry to a career in the live events industry is through experience and networking with the right contacts an alternative route may be to get a formal qualification. What options are available in the UK for anyone keen to start a career in the live events industry?

Many music festival organisers are maximising their exposure and customer engagement with social media. However, the music festivals with smaller teams may not be maximising the opportunities available with social media platforms. What are some basic steps festival organisers can take to utilise these tools effectively? 

There are thousands of music festivals that take place around the world every year. They range in size from multi day mega festivals with over 100k visitors to small local specialist festivals on a single day. In the current pandemic climate, the music festival format that is most well equipped to ride the storm may be the touring music festival.

Music festivals evolve over time, many starting as small parties in a large garden with just a few hundred into a commercial event taking place in large venue spaces with thousands of visitors. For many founders and organisers there can come a point where the logistics become overwhelming and the option to outsource logistics needs careful consideration.

There has been a trend in recent years for resorts and hotels in popular tourist destinations to host their own music festival. Many of these have grown organically over the years and in some cases have become sizeable annual events attracting perhaps in excess of 10,0000 visitors. Is this an emerging trend for the future? 

There are hundreds of music festivals around the world that rely on support from their local community and other local establishments to keep going. Without this support many of the smaller and more specialist events would not continue to succeed year on year. What format of support does this usually entail? 

For anyone with an interest in music becoming an Audio Engineer, sometimes referred to as Sound Engineer or Audio Equipment Technician, opens the possibility for an interesting and varied career. What are the best steps to take to get qualified and what opportunities are there for experienced engineers? 

As with any industry sector the importance of diversity in the workplace is vital to ensure an inclusive balanced working environment. The live music events sector should be no different from any other industry however recent studies reveal that there is still much work required to address imbalances 

As the situation regarding the opening up of live events seems to fluctuate from day-to-day music festival organisers have been faced with tough decisions on whether to push ahead with theIr events or postpone for yet another year. How realistic is it to organise and put on a successful event with condensed timescales? 

Everyone has their personal favourite genre of music and key to that is tempo. However, for DJs performing live at music festivals or nightclubs the trend seems to moving ever faster according to some sources. What's the story behind this trend and what is so special about that magic 120bpm tempo?