Thousands of people get into UK festivals every summer without buying a ticket, entirely legitimately, by volunteering. It is not a secret and it is not a loophole. Festivals need enormous numbers of temporary staff for a few days a year, and volunteering schemes are how a lot of that work gets done.
If you are happy to work while other people are watching bands, it is the single cheapest way to get to a festival.
How festival volunteering works
The model is almost universal. You apply, you are accepted, and you pay a refundable deposit that is usually roughly the price of the ticket. You complete your allocated shifts. Your deposit is returned after the festival, typically within a few weeks. Fail to turn up for a shift and you lose the deposit, which is exactly why the deposit exists.
You get a wristband that is the same as, or close to, a standard weekend ticket, plus access to a separate crew campsite that is usually quieter, closer to the gate and better equipped than general camping.
Who runs the schemes
Some festivals recruit volunteers directly through their own website. Many more use one of the established stewarding organisations that operate across multiple events each summer. Oxfam is the best known and has stewarded UK festivals for decades, with the added feature that your work supports the charity. Festaff and Hotbox Events are two other long-running operators covering a wide spread of events.
Applying through an organisation rather than the festival itself is often easier, because one application can put you in the running for several festivals across the season.
What the shifts actually involve
Most volunteer roles are stewarding, which means being a visible, helpful presence rather than security. Typical duties include:
- Checking wristbands on a campsite or arena gate.
- Directing people to toilets, water points, welfare and first aid.
- Watching a crowd for anyone in difficulty and radioing it in.
- Car park marshalling, litter picking, bar work or campsite patrols depending on the scheme.
Expect around three shifts of eight hours, or a similar total split differently. Shifts are allocated across the whole event, which includes the build-up days before gates open and the take-down afterwards. You will almost certainly work at least one shift that clashes with something you wanted to see.
The honest downsides
- Night shifts are real. A 2am to 10am campsite gate shift in the rain is a very different festival experience.
- You commit before you know the line-up. Volunteer applications generally open early.
- You need the deposit money up front, and you do not get it back until weeks after the event.
- Popular festivals fill fast. The biggest names can close applications within days.
- You are on duty. Being visibly drunk on shift will normally end your festival.
How to give yourself the best chance
- Sign up to the mailing lists of two or three stewarding organisations in the autumn, before the season opens.
- Apply the moment applications go live rather than waiting for the line-up.
- Be flexible about which festival you get. Smaller events are far easier to get onto and are often the better experience.
- Apply with a friend if the scheme allows it, and request shifts together.
- Turn up early to your first shift. Reliable volunteers get asked back and often get first refusal the following year.
What to pack that a normal festival-goer would not
Sturdy waterproofs and proper boots rather than fashion wellies, a warm mid-layer for night shifts, a head torch, a refillable water bottle, and a watch or a way of telling the time that does not depend on a phone battery.
Frequently asked questions
Do festival volunteers get paid?
No. The arrangement is a free ticket in exchange for your shifts. Paid festival work exists, but it is a separate application through bar, catering or crewing companies.
How old do you have to be?
Most schemes require volunteers to be 18 or over, and some set the minimum at 21 for certain roles such as bar work.
Can you watch bands when you are not working?
Yes. Outside your shifts you have the run of the festival like anyone else.
When do applications open?
Usually between late autumn and early spring for the following summer, with the largest festivals opening earliest and filling quickest.
