8 things that every festival needs

After an extraordinary summer weekend listening to your favourite bands and DJs at a festival, there’ll always be something that you consider could be different or improved as you walk away from the campsite. Whether it’s wishing your favourite artist had been on the line-up or feeling like there was something lacking once the main stage closed in the evening, there’s always something. So what features would you have at your perfect festival? Here is a list of 8 things that I would introduce as compulsory festival elements.

1 – Mobile phone charging stations

There’s nothing worse than looking at your phone to see you have 1% battery remaining, especially when you’re standing in the centre of a vast field with no idea of your whereabouts, let alone your friends’ whereabouts. Of course, some festivals do offer phone charging points in the main arena, but there never tend to be enough or the right port for you. Who wants to charge their phone in the main arena anyway? To avoid missing the day’s action, more charging stations should be added to the campsite for overnight use giving festival go-ers 100% battery and 100% confidence that they will be able to contact their friends throughout the day.

2 – Festival essentials stalls

With an abundance of stalls and festival markets selling UV body paint, performer merchandise and of course that infamous flower headband that almost every female appears to wear at a festival, there appears to be a gap in the market and it is the simplest gap to fill. With the unpredictability of the British weather, you can never be too sure about what to pack, with many essentials going a miss. A rain poncho and sun cream can be fundamental necessities that every visitor needs depending on the weather, but it can be impossible to find them for the copious amount of stalls selling straw hats and Jesus bracelets. With a scattering of essential stands around the site, or perhaps even portable walking sellers, this difficulty can be greatly minimised.

Una Healy sporting a typical festival accessory that we've seen enough of!

3 – An element of glamping for the ladies

There are two types of people at festivals: festival veterans who are understanding of the common festival conventions, a lack of showering and dodgy toilets; then there are those who are attending a festival for the first, and probably last, time. Stereotypically, this demographic is mainly female and for these ladies, they require an element of glamour-camping, or ‘glamping’, at a festival. For these festival newbies, hairdryers would be preferable, mirrors to do their make-up, but perhaps a hair straightening stand would be a step too far.

4 – Food stands

Gourmet grub is quickly becoming a common festival feature, with some outlets charging between £10-20 for their deluxe burgers or fish-and-chips. When you’ve already spent hundreds on your ticket and transport, spending such extravagant sums of money on food seems barbaric. For one weekend, there seems little sense in being too health-conscious so just indulge in a cheap, greasy burger or portion of chips.

Snacks are extremely underrated at summer events, with noodle bars and burger shacks taking precedence. Sometimes it can be easier to stock up on crisps and sweets which are rarely available. A mini supermarket-style retailer may be a very successful business prospect within the campsite arena for people to buy a plentiful supply of snacks for the day.

5 – Water filling stations

If you’re fortunate enough to have a space in the crowd close to the front, you may be in with a rare chance of being given a small plastic cup of water between each performer. However, even this is hard to come by and it is even harder to remain hydrated if you don’t have this position in the crowd. Whilst there may be a handful of water fill points around the arena, they are often very busy or positioned very close to a leaking row of portable toilets and don’t pose the most sanitary hydration location on the site! With a greater number of better-placed stations, it could be suggested that there would be a lower risk of dehydration in the heat of certain summer festivals.

6 – Clean toilets

There’s nothing worse than feeling the need to ‘spend a penny’ on the final night of the festival, knowing the doom that awaits you at your destination. The physical state of the ‘portaloos’ as well as the aroma that surrounds the perimeter of the stretch of cubicles is unlike anything ever experienced and should be avoided at all costs. If the toilets were cleaned more regularly, troublesome incidents like these could be prevented!

7 – Night time entertainment

The main stage may close at 11pm but the fun need not end here. Every festival needs a late-night schedule of activities once the action in the main arena has shut down. Silent discos and movies are a visitor-favourite but this is often where the entertainment ends. The night-time agenda should be viewed almost as important as the main line-up, with DJs to play in dance tents and artists booked to play acoustic twilight sessions.

8 – Line-up

Although clean toilets and plenty of food stands are an important feature of your festival experience, there is no doubt that the biggest pulling-power of an event lies in the line-up. Every festival needs a spectacular line-up to draw in spectators to purchasing a ticket. Depending on the genre, size and typical audience of the festival, the line-up will vary. For the likes of Reading, Leeds, Glastonbury, V Festival and T in the Park, worldwide stars are key in attracting your audience, with smaller indie festivals needing to catch the latest upcoming talent to entice pundits. The power relies in the performers and a fantastic line-up will always lead to your ultimate festival enjoyment.