Why are there Age Restrictions at some Music Festivals.

There are a wide variety of music festivals taking place around the world every year and whilst many are family friendly and welcome children there are some that impose strict age requirements. What are the common reasons behind organisers implementing age restrictions on their events.

When festival-goers are considering buying tickets for a music festival and are intending to attend with their children they should always check if the organisers have any age restriction policies. If age restrictions exist, they are mostly set at 18 or 21 although some events allow those aged 14 and over. There are a variety of practical, legal and ethical reasons why an organiser may set a minimum age for their music festival.

Insurance and Legal Liability.
Some insurance providers may impose age restrictions on a specific event based on a number of factors which may include issues at previous events. This may include risk categories like accidents, intoxication, lost children or safeguarding incidents. In addition, organisers can often obtain a lower premium for event insurance if they impose age restrictions reducing their running costs. Music festival sites can be high risk environments with large crowds, loud music and late-night opening which exposes children to potential harm. If a child is harmed or injured during an event an accompanying parent may still hold the organisers legally liable. Even if children are allowed onto a festival site organisers will always insist that they be accompanied at all times by a parent or guardian and formal consent will be required, nevertheless many organisers still consider children too high a risk for their events.

Availability of Alcohol.
Every jurisdiction around the world has strict laws regarding the consumption of alcohol and given that alcohol plays such a significant part of the music festival scene it makes sense to implement age restrictions. Most European countries have a legal drinking age of 18 but in the United States and other countries it is 21. Festival organisers who do allow children at their events will need to implement robust age ID check processes with strictly controlled access zones. Any vendor or event organiser can be legally liable if they are found serving alcohol to underage festival-goers which can lead to fines, licence revocation or other criminal charges. For many organisers the increased age check processes and the potential for sales to minors is just too much hassle, it’s easier to have an overall event age restriction. Whilst illegal drugs are always banned from music festivals, they still pose a risk to all festival-goers and minors may still attempt to acquire them if organisers do not have a strictly controlled environment.

Content.
Music festivals cover a range of performance artists, and some may have a reputation for producing adult content. These more mature themes can include comedians or musicians using language or visuals that may be deemed unsuitable for children. When organisers curate performance artists, they may end up with a line-up that is targeted at an older demographic audience where the content is deemed inappropriate for children. It would then make sense to impose an age restriction on event attendance.

Welfare and Safety.
Festival organisers have an obligation to make their events safe environments for all attendees, but children can be especially vulnerable in an open environment where constant supervision can be challenging. Camping zones pose risks for children particularly when supervising adults are not present and can include potential drug use, sexual activity and overall safety. If organisers do allow children, they must make provisions for their welfare which can include having trained safeguarding staff, conducting volunteer background checks and the creation of child protection welfare policies. For some organisers this can become an administrative burden that also increases running costs. All festival organisers must follow prevailing health and safety protocols, but a festival environment still poses dangers for children especially in large high density crowd situations where there are increased physical risks. In addition, the noise levels experienced at most festivals can exceed the recommended decibels for prolonged periods which can be especially harmful for children who are still developing.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by Jonathan Cooper via Pexels

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