Okay so Festival Season is already well underway, we’ve had Radio One Big Weekend in Middlesbrough, Parklife in Manchester and Glorious Glastonbury will soon be upon us at Worthy Farm.

But before you lose yourself standing in a field with 20,000 people, not exactly understanding what ‘the feeling is’, spare a few precious thoughts for your Festival Season Safety.

Everybody wants to have a great time, enjoy the bands, the hedonistic atmosphere and the feeling of pure freedom and friendship, and certainly, nobody expects any festival nightmares, especially if it’s your first festival!  

But if you don’t plan your safety strategy in advance, (and stick to it!), you could be setting yourself up for a festival you will never forget… For all the wrong reasons!

So, if you are a festival virgin and you want to know more about Festival Season Safety, read on, First2HelpYou are experts in personal safety and can give you all the top tips you need to keep you safe!

Stick Together

If there is one piece of festival advice we would advocate it’s this, stick together! And here’s why.

Chances are you are off to Reading and Leeds with a group of friends you’ve known since you started school and who, right now, feel like the kind of people you will only ever need to make life complete.

And for the Festival Weekend at least, they actually are.

You’ve grown up together, seen one another laugh and cry, shared secrets together, gone through exams and first boyfriends/girlfriends together, and now you are about to have the best weekend with these guys.

So just make sure you have each other’s backs okay?

Despite the hippy heritage and the ‘Love. Peace. Freedom’ vibe, festivals are prime sites for predatory individuals to prey on unsuspecting newbies in whatever way they can.

Don’t let this happen to your mates, and make sure they won’t let this happen to YOU.

Make sure you keep your phones charged, (REALLY IMPORTANT), and never ever go it alone. Make sure there’s always at least two of you together if you break away from the larger group, and arrange regular meetups to exchange stories and share those great festival experiences!

Take Some Water with it!

Now, without wanting to sound like an overprotective parent, getting ‘completely off your face’ is not the best way to enjoy all the festival fun.

Sure, there’s going to be alcohol, (lots), and yes, there’s going to be people taking drugs. Our advice? Leave them to it!

There’s no getting away from the fact, drugs are dangerous if you don’t know what you are taking, and especially if you are mixing with alcohol.

Aside from that, here are some very solid reasons to steer clear;

• You have no idea what you are taking – drugs are mixed with loads of harmful chemicals before they get to the end user.
• After the high, there is a MASSIVE low
• Even one pill can kill you
• One wrong decision can ruin many lives.
• drugs are illegal and police and security forces will clamp down hard on anybody found to be dealing or in possession, even if it is just ‘for personal use’

If, and it’s a BIG ‘IF’ you are even remotely tempted, remember the following;

There are kits available to test drugs, and most of the major festivals have these kits available, no questions asked.

JUST REMEMBER TO KEEP YOURSELF SAFE.

Wear Sunscreen / Take Your Wellies

In other words, another thing to remember in your festival season safety kit is, be prepared for literally ANY weather!

Festival wellies look chic with shorts and perfect with ponchos; what isn’t a great look is having to go home half-way through the festival because you have not come prepared for the great British summer which can turn from scorchio sun to scandalous showers within hours.

And it’s not just your wellies you need to remember, sunstroke is hideous and can leave you feeling so ill you will never ever want to see the sun again.

Take a small bottle of mid factor sun protection just in case you get lucky and the sun does come out to play!

Hand gel and baby wipes are your new best friends!

Okay, so we all know festivals are famous for their less than glamourous sanitary arrangements.

That’s okay, it’s all part of the fun and is definitely character building as they say!

However, to prevent picking up any dodgy germs that are going to potentially leave you laid up, simply remember your baby wipes and hand gel and use them religiously!

Personal Safety Equipment for Festival Staff

It’s not just the festival goers that need to remember festival season safety.

Festival staff also need to consider their own personal safety, especially if they are on outposts around the fringes of the festival such as camp entrances, away from the main site.

This can often mean working alone which makes you vulnerable and can compromise your own security whilst you are busy trying to protect others!

Don’t worry though, there are loads of personal safety devices available, and here at First2HelpYou, we offer comprehensive training for any employer or employee wanting to ensure they are bang up to date with lone working legislation and how to maximise personal safety for anybody working alone.

Contact Us

So, if you are planning your first festival or you are a regular festival site worker and you want to know more about festival season safety, you contact us here, or call us on 0333 772 9401 to discuss your requirements and arrange protection today.

We have a team of experts with a wealth of knowledge and experience in personal safety who would be delighted to chat with you about your experiences and offer advice on how to stay safe at festivals. (We can speak from experience, honest!).