Most big music festivals take place in large open spaces often in remote locations and for the festival season in the UK the weather can be unpredictable. Many festival organisers now use a combination of open spaces and covered marquees to provide some shelter should there be inclement weather.

After BREXIT there were numerous changes to UK immigration rules regarding the free movement of performance artists between the EU and the UK which at the time was unclear. For UK festivals that wish to curate overseas artists to perform at a UK festival the government created the Permit Free Festival List.  

Music festivals in the UK are generally safe environments and the majority of festival-goers have an enjoyable experience. There is unfortunately an element of criminality that still occurs at every event to a lesser or greater extent and festival organisers must continue to take all matters of security and safety of festival-goers seriously.

Volunteer work at music festivals is always popular and demand from organisers remains high. Many festival organisers recruit their volunteers directly while other applicants may prefer to go the charity route. Numerous festivals have direct deals with selected charities that allow the charity to have pitch space and fundraising volunteers on site.

The food vendor business is a key element to any music festival providing a welcome source of revenue. Vendor pitch spaces at festival sites are always in demand and organisers invest considerable time in promoting and managing their vendor operations. What is likely to be trending in the food vendor sector this year that will impact on organisers and festival-goers?

During the coronavirus pandemic many artists and festivals turned to live streaming as a way to reach audiences. With COVID restrictions being lifted in many countries organisers are looking forward to a festival season that is almost back to normal in 2022. It is likely that live streaming will increasingly have a role to play in reaching audiences.

The risk of cyber-attacks in all aspects of society is ever increasing and music festivals are no expectation to this. Cyber-attacks can take many forms and is usually conducted with financial crime as the objective. What are the key aspects of this phenomenon that festival organisers need to be aware of?

All festival organisers like to encourage use of public transport like rail and coach to festival-goers when considering getting to and from festival sites. Use of public transport helps reduce a festival’s overall carbon footprint and supports their sustainability objectives. How do festival organisers work with transport suppliers during festival season?

Use of mobile apps has rocketed in recent years with millions of apps available for just about any purpose. Music festival organisers have been embracing this technology for their own app development to satisfy festival-goers demand. What is the festival app landscape looking like for this year's festival season.  

Many music festivals have evolved over time from grassroots events with a reputation for muddy fields and a back to basics feel. Technology is advancing at an ever-increasing speed and new innovations are being adopted by festival organisers to make their operations more efficient and provide greater convenience to festival-goers.

Since tickets have been sold and used for entry to music festivals ticket touts have existed and while advances in technology have eliminated many the professional ticket tout still prevails. How are ticket touts operating in the current environment and what can festival organisers do to overcome this unsavoury activity. 

Every festival will usually have a core team of full-time permanent staff who are probably paid a monthly salary. In addition, organisers have to consider the number of seasonal contract staff and contractor suppliers who also need to be paid. What do organisers need to know when it comes to paying staff and how can they make their processes efficient.

Anyone reading daily news feeds about the music festival scene in the UK will not have failed to notice the comments made by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) at their annual conference on the 15th February 2022. What practical steps can organisers take to tackle some of the issues raised.

Music festivals have a high reliance on temporary electricity generators with most using diesel to fuel them. These power generators are relatively efficient to run and can generate the enormous electricity requirements needed by most festivals. There are changes coming in 2022 that could have a serious impact of the cost of fuel used.

With sustainability high on the agenda for many music festivals there will be an increasing focus on packaging used for food and beverage vendors at live events in 2022. What are the latest trends emerging that can be adopted by food and beverage vendors who have a pitch space for an upcoming event this year. 

As music festival organisations become ever more committed to running sustainable events the importance of polices and enforcement increases. It can be relatively straightforward for festival organisers to control their own behaviour in striving to reduce their environmental impact but controlling what suppliers and vendors do can be more challenging.

The number of contractors used for a large festival can go into the hundreds with possibly thousands of people involved. Managing this number of contract suppliers and all their staff can be challenging for festival organisers. What are the key considerations for achieving a smooth contractor management process.

The consumption of hard seltzers is expected to take off in the UK’s festival season this year having seen huge growth in the United States in recent years. It’s possible that the big alcoholic drinks sponsors will be pushing their new brands in this new and developing category of drink which seems to appeal to most music festival audiences.

As festival organisations grow over time many have expanded by creating more editions with additional locations and dates. Whilst managing a single festival event during the summer festival season is hard enough there are advantages and challenges when expanding to a multi-event format.

Inflation is a developing story in the media in 2022 with many economists predicting inflationary pressure on world economies. This will likely impact all parts of society and will have a knock-on effect on the music festival sector with organisers seeing rising costs and a subsequent need to increase ticket prices.