4 Safety and Security Tips for Festival Season

The notorious rowdy Glastonbury music festival took place last week. Some of the world’s biggest artists performed in this 5-day music and contemporary arts festival in the UK. Over 200,000 festivalgoers were expected to attend.

Due to recent terror-related attacks in Europe, talks of elevated security and terrorist threats dominated the news surrounding this year’s Glastonbury Festival. Representatives from Glastonbury Festival as well as the Glastonbury police released statements and videos notifying attendees traveling to the festival to expect major traffic delays entering the festival grounds, large lines to ensure thorough security checks and a much higher presence of armed police officers, security, and emergency aid tents.

With heightened security presences, terror threats and emergency aid tents becoming the new normal for many high profile open space events, if you`re traveling to a festival this summer here are some tips to help you stay safe and enjoy the music!

• Know Before You Go – Be sure to check out the official festival websites to know exactly what is allowed into the festival grounds. Save copies of the grounds map to your phone and print a copy in case your phone dies, gets lost, etc. It is also a good idea to have a list of emergency phone numbers in case an incident occurs (remember, 911 is not the emergency response number in every country).
• Practice Sun Safety – Festivals are often in the middle of wide-open fields with little shelter from the sun’s harmful UV rays. To avoid a medical emergency such as heat or sunstroke, be sure to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen and a hat. If you develop symptoms of heat exhaustion or sunstroke, seek immediate medical attention.

• Be Aware of Your Surroundings – Always be alert and fully aware of who and what is going on around you. Festivals often have various stages stretching across a large area, and it is not possible to know the goings on throughout the whole festival, pay special attention to the things happening around you. If you see something that you deem as suspicious behavior, notify authorities and if necessary practice the “Run, Hide, Tell” procedure.
• Have a Plan– It is important to have a response plan in case a crisis does occur. Although organizers will have evacuation plans to get attendees off the grounds, there likely will be no specific plan past getting you away from the affected area. Attendees should take their safety into their own hands and look into proper coverage for all events.