10 Tips on How to Plan a Successful Outdoor Music Festival

Outdoor festivals are usually over a three to four day period. For you to plan a successful outdoor music festival over a weekend, you’ll need to create a business plan. Additionally, you’ll need to set up facilities such as portable toilets for which you’ll need companies that offer toilet hire Melbourne event planners trust. Yes, there’s a lot of planning that goes into any event!

So, how skilled are you at planning? You must be able to accommodate crowds of people as well as make a multitude of other considerations. If you want to plan an independent music festival or other outdoor, we can assist you. There may be something in your arrangement that you’ve missed. So, take a look at our top 10 tips on how to plan a successful outdoor event.

1. Draw Up a Business Plan

With a huge outdoor event, you must plan everything in advance. It’s important to draw up a business plan to develop an overview of the event and its purpose. Your festival business plan should include the following information:

  • The type of event
  • When the festival will take place
  • Where it will take place
  • The space you’ll need
  • How it will benefit your community
  • The theme of your event

2. Establish Your Budget for the Event

A business plan will help you establish your budget. You’ll need to know how much every aspect of the festival will cost so you can budget accordingly. If you are short on your budget, you can always seek out sponsors to assist you.

3. Gather Up Your Line Up

What is the genre of your music festival or live music? If you are catering for people in the alternative scene then you’ll need hard rock bands. On the other hand, if you’re planning a dance music festival, you’ll need DJs to play on stage. No matter what genre of music you select you must have a relevant and engaging lineup.

Contact all the bands or DJs you want to play at your music festival and ask them if they’d like to be a part of the event. Then develop your line up. You can place every band and DJ in a timeslot so your audience knows which one will play at a specific time.

4. Develop a Marketing Campaign

You must market your music festival so you can get people to come to your event. You can start marketing your event six months or a year in advance to gain traction and properly reach your audience. Advertise your event on social media and ensure you have a website to give people more information about the event.

Furthermore, your website should allow people to view the address of the event and a place they can buy tickets. Give an overview of the landscape of the event so people can pick their spots to set up camp.

5. Hire People with Food and Drink Stalls

Since your music festival will be over three to four days there must be places where your audience can buy food and beverages. So hire small food and drink stalls for your event & ensure they’re stocked up for the duration of the festival.

6. Add a Flea Market

Some people love buying merchandise from music festivals so they have mementos to remind them of their experience. Include a flea market so people can buy clothes, accessories and more from the stalls.

7. Set Up the Correct Facilities

Festivals are typically set up in large fields where there are no restrooms with showers or toilets. So, you must get the correct facilities for people to use. Opt for portable toilets hire from a reputable company and set them up all over the festival area.

Place the portable toilets within walking distance from the campsite and near the music stages so people can get to them easily.

8. Include Security and Emergency Services

It’s important to have security services patrol the fields to ensure the safety of the crowd. Additionally, security makes sure no one tries to get onto the property without a ticket. You must also higher emergency services in case someone gets injured or sick during the festival.

9. Monitor Your Crowd

For you to monitor your crowd, ensure you place a colourful band around people’s wrists when accepting tickets. These colourful bands will show the security personnel that people have paid to enter the festival. The wrist bands allow crowds to exit and re-enter the premises without being stopped by security, simplifying managing the flow of traffic.

10. Hire Clean Up Services

Some people at festivals may litter. During the festival, you’ll need people to clean portable toilets and dustbins regularly. Son make sure you have a cleaning service that will pick up all the litter left behind by the crowd.

Helpful tip: send litter for recycling after the event and do your bit for the environment!

Final Thoughts

The most important part of your festival is getting the correct facilities for the people to use. For example, make sure that your portable toilets have a place for people to wash their hands and that they’re in the correct locations. You want your music festival to be fun AND comfortable for everyone.

We hope your music festival is a huge success and you’re able to make your crowd happy, ready for your next event!