Staying Safe at Festivals

Recent events at Latitude, Love Parade and T in the Park should remind us that festivals aren't always just sex, drugs and rock n' roll. Here's our guide to staying safe at music events this Summer. 

The thought of Summer music festivals may well conjure up images of people partying hard and indulging in a hedonistic, care free world of sex, drugs and rock n roll for two or three days. The peace and love ethic that is behind the founding of many such festivals such as Glastonbury and Germany’s Love Parade may suggest you can forget about the normal rules of staying safe that go with being out in public, but recent events sadly illustrate otherwise. While a crowd surge at the latter event in Duisburg lead to the death of 19 people, the recent shock of two rapes at Suffolk’s Latitude Festival refocused media attention on the need - particularly for young women - to take precautions for their safety at music festivals.

Elsewhere, two incidents of attempted murder, including one against a young man trying to protect a woman at T in The Park, reminds us that staying safe is also an issue for young men. And violence isn’t the only issue, as people generally can be at risk of theft at events where tens of thousands of people come to party. Indeed, thieves can and do target such events. So, while it’s important to remember to enjoy and make the most of festival season, what can you do to ensure your safety, and that of your possessions, if you’re attending such an event this summer?

Personal Safety and Health

It’s important to organise a meeting point where you can find friends in case you get split up. Ensuring you have a fully charged mobile (some festivals have their own charging points) so you can contact others is also a useful way of staying in touch. After dark, you should ideally stay in the company of friends, and it’s well worth having a small torch with you, to ensure you’re not tripping up in the dark.

Just having a general awareness of what’s happening around you is vital. Chances are you’ll be one of the many hundreds of thousands of people who goes to a festival each year without a hitch, but keeping an eye and anticipating situations and potential danger can stop you from getting caught up in crowd surges, mugging and violence – if you’re in a crowd, have an exit route, and trust your instincts about the kinds of people you’re surrounded by. If in doubt, simply move to a different part of the field or venue.

Given the danger of burning out after 72 hours of solid partying, it’s essential to take care of your body. Have a decent supply of important medication with you, and be sure to eat some food, and drink something non alcoholic to rehydrate. And, while most readers will indulge in something stronger than a cup of tea, it’s worth spending a least a couple of hours a day sober – festivals are a marathon, not a sprint!

Your Tent and Your Stuff

Your home for two or three days is going to be your tent – effectively one home in a small city. The best way to avoid losing an expensive laptop or video camera, etc., is to not tempt fate by bringing it into the festival, as gangs can and do target these events as opportunities to steal. You can however take steps to minimise the risk of theft in various ways. Get to know your new neighbours as they will be able to keep an eye out for your stuff, and vice versa. For the more valuable items, many festivals run a cloakroom or locker system, so it’s worth checking in. Your safety at night will be greatly increased if you aren’t stumbling round for hours trying to find your tent, so using anything you can to make it findable is vital – try to memorise a few landmarks. For those with fancy phones, you may even be able to use GPS tagging to mark the spot!

Stashing your money in more than one place is a good way of ensuring that if the worst does happen, at least some of your money may be left behind. Security experts say putting a lock on your tent is not advisable as it can draw attention to your possessions. If you do discover someone stealing from your tent, only alert people if it’s safe. It may be best to let them take your possessions, rather than risk injury to yourself. And it is worth reporting any incidents to the police – it may help track down the individuals responsible and stop them from stealing from anyone else. Likewise, if you see someone acting suspiciously, tell festival staff or police of your concerns, it is in the festival spirit to look out for others, and maybe stop someone from being a victim of crime.

While out and about you may well lose a phone, purse or wallet, in which case it is well worth checking with Lost Property, as a many items are handed in each year. Clearly labelling your person possessions is a good way of improving your chances of getting your stuff back.

Car Parking

When parking your car at the festival site, don’t leave anything valuable inside (leave the laptop at home, etc.), and don’t leave any objects visible – jackets on the back seat, and CDs scattered about may seem harmless, but they’re enough temptation for a thief to smash the window. Given the incredible size of festival car parks, ensure you know where the car is parked, and of course make sure your vehicle is fully secured before you leave it.

Words: Abbas Ali