Hi friends!
Whilst I'm between jobs it made sense to revive this, so I'm going to share a post I've been writing on and off for over a year. Since I first began documenting festival adventures here over 15 years ago, I've attended 50+ events as a guest or crew and have met hundreds of incredible people who dedicate their summers to making sure that huge productions go off without a hitch, and being part of that in some way is a wonderful feeling, especially as you sip free drinks from a private or VIP area...
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| Top gig working at a fun vintage clothing stall |
I've put together a guide to getting work at festivals in the UK, split over several parts. You don't have to have a special qualification and you can earn great money making amazing friends and memories in the sunshine!
Explore more of my festival content, from LED outfit DIY's to tent recommendations to full reviews of some of the biggest music and theatre events in the country....
Getting Work At UK Festivals
There are two main ways to work at a festival. You can join an agency or you can find your own jobs. I don't like working for an agency - they often inhibit your ability to accept other work, can be dodgy return deposits, pay less and have lengthy application processes. I find all my work through work of mouth or on Facebook groups, so that is what this guide will be focussed on. I'm not saying it's wrong, just not for me. It really helps to be self-employed and to have a driving license, I can't tell you the number of times I've landed a really awesome job because I happened to have a car.
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| Tent might be falling apart but still smiling... |
You can also volunteer for charities like Water-Aid and Oxfam, who offer perks such as a ticket, hot showers and plug points and give you a couple of shifts to work in exchange. Litter picking, stewarding, working in crew catering or putting up glamping tents are some of the other jobs that you can do with no extra qualification (working on building festival stages often requires various scaffolding accreditations etc)
If volunteering for a charity appeals to you, try these sites for roles at some incredible festivals. Once you've proved you'll show up for the last day, which is a major issue for volunteer roles in this sphere, you'll start getting offered bigger and better festivals, but be prepared to put in a few hours at smaller events first.
Volunteering is all well and good, and absolutely no shade, but here is the big secret: You can, and SHOULD, get paid to work at festivals, especially for roles that involve long shifts, any type of hygiene requirements (like food traders) or anything that requires real physical exertion (glamping, toilets) The vast majority of food and non-food traders at events pay their staff both an hourly wage and travel expenses. It's only fair to expect to get paid if you are going to put the work in - if what you really want is to have fun, disappear into the night and run to your own schedule, you might be better off with volunteering for something with minimal requirements than taking a paid role anyway.
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| Glastonbury 2022 with my OG trio |
Should You Pay A Deposit To Work At Festivals?
Some festival companies will ask for a deposit. This is a pretty contentious issue within the events industry. I get it - big festivals like Glastonbury have a strange ability to swallow people up never to show up for another shift, things happen, things go wrong. Hiring workers from Facebook and not having a core crew of staff can make this very difficult for traders, who are often limited with how many tickets they are allocated, plus the fees for these tickets get added to their stall fee, which can range from a few hundred to thousands depending on the product and position within the festival.
Employers might ask for a deposit in a number of ways, and there are some tips which can help you avoid a situation where you are essentially paying for a ticket and working:
Large charities like Water Aid and Oxfam are well established at Glastonbury Festival and other large, often sold out events such as Boomtown, Womad, Reading and Leeds and many more. You will often be expected to pay a deposit to work for one of these. Usually, this covers your whole summer, so if you plan to join their crew for a number of events, the deposit won't seem like such a drain. It makes sense for charities to ask for a deposit as they are non-profit, and they have to balance the cost/use of their tickets with providing their service. Whether or not you pay a deposit, you should expect to work 3 shifts of varying times. Don't pay a deposit until you know what you'll be expected to work, and what you need to do to get it back. You'll also want to know what their policy is if you fail to turn up for a shift due to illness or personal emergency - most legitimate organisations would allow a reasonable reason for not turning up, as long as you have followed their procedures - such as letting someone know or finding a replacement. But you can get caught out - I know of a girl who worked 4 bar shifts at a festival a few years ago, got COVID on the last day and wasn't able to complete her shift, the company tried to keep her deposit and she had to really fight for it back - this is absolutely the exception to the rule in my experience, but it's worth remembering and making sure you always ask for full terms of your agreement.
I absolutely do not advocate doing volunteer bar or food trader work at festivals. The job is hard, it puts you at personal risk (liability for money, drunk customers, serving underage drinkers...) and you will be expected to adhere to rigid shift times. I am often offered this type of work and unless I really, really want to go to the festival and working on the bar has other benefits (like meal tickets, free drinks, VIP access...) I'll always say no.
As an example, last year I worked at a well-known festival as a small bar manager. I did three shifts of 8 hours, had as much to drink as I wanted, three meal tokens a day for all 3 days and hot shower access. I was paid £270 after tax - for a weekend, this felt like a win.
Top Tips For Landing Festival Work
1. Only pay a deposit with a legitimate company that provides full terms and that offers you something you really want to do, or more than a single opportunity.
2. Watch out for anything out of the ordinary - unscrupulous traders may offer a day rate and unconfirmed hours, restrictions on your movements within events (such as having to camp in certain areas or not being allowed in others) Don't be afraid to turn down jobs at events you really want to go to if the terms make you uncomfortable. There's plenty of jobs out there that won't!
3. If you post on social media looking for work, include a photo of yourself at an event, what qualifications you have that are relevant and whether you have transport.
In part two I'll share more direct links for work opportunities and some other ways you can land fun, rewarding festival work.
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