jobs at festivals

The Indispensible Festivals Guide

By Scott Williams | Published: Fri 16th Feb 2018

No major festival could function without the stewards, security, catering and other staff that help events run smoothly. If you are looking for a temporary job over the summer, like working at large outdoor events and enjoy working around large numbers of people then working at a festival could be for you.

There are many different ways you can work at a festival. A lot of the work is voluntary, and often stewards will work for their tickets instead of getting a wage - often to the benefit of a charity such as Oxfam.

For more information about working at festivals, check out our guide to working at festivals.

 

Currently recruiting for their 2018 dates...

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Oxfam provide stewards for a number of events.

Oxfam stewards must be over 18 and be willing to volunteer for 3 x 8 1/4 hour shifts usually over the days of the festival, with the rest of your time free to enjoy yourself. Roles vary from ticket checking, and campsite patrols to arena venues and disabled access platforms. You are also asked to pay a fully refundable deposit which is returned to you after the festival. See the Oxfam website for more details.

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My Cause UK provide stewarding stages campsites and car parks, staffing gates, checking tickets and wrist banding, as well as bar staff, programme sales and almost everything in between for a number of events.

My Cause UK are currently recruiting volunteers for festivals in Bristol and across the UK. They offer the opportunity for people to get involved and come along to some great events for free, on top of that for each volunteer’s shift My Cause contribute a donation to their charity of choice. See the My Cause website for more details.

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Complete Wasters provide litter picking and recycling services at Festivals and Events such as No Direction Home and Summer Sundae and rely on volunteers to help maintain their high standards. This active and satisfying role, not only gets you entry into the event and usually a meal or two, but a real sense of achievement in keeping the site clean, tidy and limiting the environmental impact as much as possible. With a big part of the work usually being focused on the end of the festival, there can also be the opportunity to enjoy more of the event than perhaps with other voluntary roles. Deposits to ensure shifts are completed are required. Check out the Summer Events Diary on the volunteer section of their website www.completewasters.co.uk.

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VSC/Workers Beer Company Would you like to get free entry to festivals such as Glastonbury, Latitude, Tolpuddle, Reading and Leeds - and at the same time help raise crucial funds for social causes?

VSC will again be joining with the important labour movement organisation Worker's Beer Company (www.workersbeer.co.uk) and will be organising volunteers at a range of festivals. As a volunteer, you get free entry, and at those where you need to camp, you stay in a reserved 'village' with toilets and hot showers plus soem free food and drink. (You need to bring a tent and a sleeping bag). There is also free transport to some festivals from London and sometimes elsewhere. In exchange you will work a bar shift (6-8 hours) for which VSC will receive £6.50 per hour - funds which are crucial to enabling our solidarity campaigning throughout the year. To register as a potential volunteer please contact vscassistant@yahoo.co.uk with the names of the festivals you would like to volunteer at, including an indication on whether you are prepared to do waiter/ess service at the festivals if necessary. For queries contact VSC on 0207 420 8963 or vscassistant@yahoo.co.uk.

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festival information by: Scott Williams


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