The assumption that a festival is inevitably a drinking weekend is out of date. People go sober because they are in recovery, because they are driving, because they are pregnant, because of medication, because they are working, or simply because they would rather remember the whole thing. Whatever the reason, it is easier than it used to be and more common than you would guess from the queue at the bar.
Choose the festival with this in mind
Not every event is equally easy sober. Festivals with strong daytime programming beyond music, workshops, talks, comedy, food, wellbeing areas and family fields, give you far more to do that has nothing to do with a bar. Smaller and mid-sized festivals tend to be gentler than the biggest weekend events.
Some festivals run sober meet-ups or recovery meetings on site. It is worth searching the festival name alongside terms like sober camp or recovery, or asking on the official social group before you go.
Camping choices that help
- Family camping or quiet camping is usually available to anyone who wants it, not just families at some events, and is dramatically calmer overnight.
- Avoid pitching next to the loudest group in the field. Move on day one if you need to, before the site fills.
- Being able to leave matters. If a campervan pitch or a nearby room is affordable, having your own quiet space to retreat to is worth a lot.
Having something in your hand
This is a small thing that makes a surprising difference. UK festival bars now almost always stock alcohol-free beer, and many stock alcohol-free spirits and cocktails as well. Soft drinks, coffee, chai and smoothie stalls are everywhere. Nobody looks at what is in your cup, and if you would rather not discuss it, a lime and soda ends the conversation immediately.
Every UK festival has free drinking water points. Take a refillable bottle and use them, because dehydration on a hot day feels remarkably like everything else feeling worse.
Handling other people
You will be asked, usually once, usually casually. You do not owe anyone an explanation. Useful answers, in ascending order of directness:
- I am on the soft stuff tonight.
- I am driving.
- I do not drink.
Most people move on immediately. Anyone who does not is telling you something about themselves rather than about you.
The 11pm problem
Late evening is when the gap is widest, because the people around you are several hours into their night and you are not. Plan for it rather than being surprised by it:
- Have a specific plan after the headliner rather than drifting. A late film tent, a small stage, a food stall, a walk round the site.
- Give yourself permission to go to bed. Leaving at midnight is not failing at a festival.
- Line up the mornings instead. Being the only functional person in the campsite at 9am is one of the genuine pleasures of a sober festival.
If you are in recovery
A festival is a high-trigger environment and it is reasonable to plan for that in advance. Go with at least one person who knows, agree a signal for wanting to leave a situation, save the phone number of someone you can call, and look up whether there are meetings on site or nearby. Welfare tents are staffed by people who understand this and will not judge you for turning up. If it stops being fun and starts being hard, leaving early is a completely valid outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Do UK festivals sell alcohol-free drinks?
Almost all of them now do, including alcohol-free beer at main bars, and there are always soft drinks, coffee and free water points.
Can you bring your own drinks into a festival?
Usually into the campsite in limited quantities and never in glass, but rarely into the arena. Check the festival's specific policy before travelling.
Are there sober camping areas at festivals?
Dedicated sober camping is uncommon, but family and quiet campsites serve much the same purpose and are open to anyone at many events.
Is it boring going to a festival without drinking?
Not if you pick an event with plenty going on beyond the main stage. Most people who do it report remembering more of the weekend and enjoying the mornings considerably more.
