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Festival Republic

PUBLIC SAFETY ADVICE

PUBLIC SAFETY ADVICE PUBLISHED ONLINE

Festivals are places to enjoy yourself and have fun. No one wants that experience spoiled by anything happening to you or your stuff, so here are some top tips on how to ensure everyone has a safe, happy, healthy festival.

Our main message is: please don’t be afraid to ask for help. Find the nearest member of security, steward or zone manager, or make your way to the welfare tent or the medical tent in the Village – the very reason these people and places are present at the festival is to ensure your safety.

WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T BRING

Check the terms and conditions of the event you are attending.

EMERGENCY

If there is an emergency such as a medical emergency, a serious or life-threatening crime being committed, an out of control fire or any other comparably serious incident, please contact the nearest security or steward immediately. In the very unlikely event that you are unable to find someone, please call 999.

If there is an evacuation, please follow the directions of staff or any announcements. There are emergency exits all around the perimeter of the arena.

FIRE SAFETY

  • Watch out for flying embers and sparks as they could start a fire, even from some distance.
  • No fireworks are allowed on site. Being found in possession of a flare or firework at a music event is now a criminal offence.
  • Fires are not permitted in the arena.
  • Smoking is not permitted in enclosed public spaces or buildings including the big tops inside the arena.
  • All sites have a festival firefighting team who are fully equipped to deal with fires. There are also fire extinguishers positioned throughout the site.
  • Security and stewards look out for fires, accidents and risky situations and are there to help you, so please do let them know if you have a problem.
  • Remember gas canisters, smoke bombs and flares are not allowed onsite and will be confiscated.
  • Using smoke bombs, flares or gas canisters leaves you liable to eviction.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU DISCOVER A FIRE

  • If a fire starts in your tent, get everyone out of the tent and evacuate the area as quickly as possible.
  • You need to get help from the nearest security or steward who will call the festival firefighting team to extinguish the fire.
  • Some security and stewards are provided with extinguishers / training / fire backpacks, so they may also be able to assist with smaller fires.
  • If you discover a fire in its very early stages and think you can deal with it yourself, remember that fires can spread very quickly when there are flammable materials such as tents and rubbish about. Even a small, seemingly contained fire can spread quickly and produce smoke and fumes which can kill in seconds.
  • If you are in any doubt then do not tackle the fire, no matter how small. Raise the alarm and keep other nearby festival goers away from the fire until it has been contained and properly extinguished.
  • Here is a simple fire code to help you decide whether to put out, or get out:
    • Only tackle a fire in its very early stages.
    • Always put your own and other people’s safety first.
    • Make sure you can escape if you need to and that the fire is not blocking your exit.
    • Fire extinguishers are only for fighting a fire in its very early stages. Never tackle a fire if it is starting to spread or has spread to other items nearby.
    • Around 70% of fire deaths are caused by people being overcome by smoke and fumes.

SEXUAL SAFETY

  • We take all reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault seriously.
  • It is not acceptable to grope, threaten or harass others. If this happens to you, speak out and we will help you.
  • Sexual assault is never the victim’s fault but there are things you can do to keep yourself safe – choose your crew carefully, look out for each other, be aware of how you are affected by sun / dehydration / alcohol / drugs / not eating properly.
  • Consent should be enthusiastic – then you know it really is consent. Consent is complicated, but this is the easiest way to think about it.
  • If you need to get out of a situation, just leave, don’t feel embarrassed. Ask security or stewards for help.
  • Safe Gigs for Women are onsite at many of our festival this summer. They will provide a great deal of support and advice to anyone that visits them, whatever your gender.

‘ASK FOR ANGELA’

We are supporting the Ask for Angela campaign, which is operational across all of our festivals and is briefed to all staff members, including security, stewards & bar staff. Ask for Angela is an initiative aimed to provide support in a discreet manor for anyone experiencing harassment of any kind. Customers are encouraged to go to a member of bar staff or security and ‘Ask for Angela’.

DISCRIMINATION

  • We don’t accept any discrimination towards any individual or groups of individuals.
  • Irrespective of the background of the individual, be that gender, race, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity. We are proud of the diverse nature of our festivals and their customers, if you see or experience anyone experience anyone undermining this – no matter the severity – please report it immediately to one of our onsite security or stewards.

MEDICAL AND WELFARE FACILITIES

  • There are medical tents on every site open whenever the site is open to the public. You can find their location on any site map.
  • There are doctors, paramedics, first aiders and fully equipped ambulances based out of the medical tent. They provide an accident and emergency facility with full resuscitation, GP facilities and surgeries and psychiatric treatment. They will also have contacts for emergency dentists and local pharmacies and / or basic pharmacy supplies.
  • The medical service link up with the local hospitals / air ambulance etc in advance and live on the day as required.
  • If you need to bring medication with you, we recommend bringing a copy of your doctor’s letter or prescription. There will be a fridge available in the medical tent if you require cold storage for your medication.Heavily pregnant visitors are advised to contact the medical team on arrival at the event to ensure you are aware of the services on offer.
  • All camping festivals have a welfare tent, again open whenever the site is open to the public, and some day shows also have a welfare facility. They are staffed by experienced and supportive people. They can
  • provide confidential advice about drugs, alcohol, sexual health and offer support if you need to talk. They have a rest and recovery area if you’ve overdone it.
  • Our larger festivals often have additional welfare facilities as well as the main welfare tent such as the Samaritans, Church Tents, Town Pastors, Salvation Army or British Red Cross – all staffed by volunteers giving up their time to help you. They will be marked on the site map.

HEALTH ADVICE

  • Check the forecast before you come and pack accordingly – don’t forget your sun-cream / wellies / waterproofs / insect repellent.
  • Look after yourself, don’t overdo it and look out for others.
  • Keep hydrated – there are free drinking water points all over the site.
  • Serious sunstroke, sun-burn or cancer can be caused by too much sun on unprotected skin – wear a high factor sun cream.
  • Prolonged exposure to high volume noise can cause severe hearing damage. Ear plugs will be available onsite either at the welfare tent or the medical tent.
  • There may be loud bangs as part of performances. Please note that pyrotechnics, lasers, smoke machines, strobe lighting or other special effects may be used as part of some act’s performances.
  • Remember there is more chance of catching an infection in a field than at home so make sure you use the water points and hand sanitizer stations at the toilet blocks to wash your hands regularly.
  • Festivals can be hot spots for measles as they present the perfect opportunity for the infection to spread and festival goers aged 15 – 25 may have missed out on the MMR vaccine when they were younger.
  • Public Health England recommend you check you are up to date with your GP practice and make an appointment to get the vaccine before attending. Measles starts with cold like symptoms and sore red eyes followed by a high temperature and red brown blotchy rash.

SAFETY ADVICE

  • Agree a meeting point / time / place with your friends in case you get separated and don’t have phone battery or signal.
  • Festivals often take place on uneven parkland, farmland etc with stone tracks and metal track way. Decent shoes are a good idea.
  • Please don’t dig holes that could cause trip hazards for other festival goers or the animals that return to the site when you have left.
  • Please don’t climb trees as you may hurt yourself and damage the tree.
  • Give any passing security or emergency vehicles or buggies plenty of space to pass and don’t ride on vehicles.
  • Learn the layout of the site and where you can find the toilets / stewards / water points etc.

SECURITY

  • We do all we can to keep you safe at our festivals – we review and improve our security operations continually throughout the year.
  • We take the security and safety of our festival goers very seriously – it is our number one priority.
  • Please help us by bringing as little as possible with you and remember that at most festivals we do not allow bags larger than A4 into the arena. Please check the festival’s terms and conditions before attending.
  • Please be patient while we carry out our security checks and searches, which take place at the campsite gates, the arena entrance and may also happen any time at any location onsite.
  • Our security staff are there for your safety 24 hours a day – please co-operate with them as they work to keep us all safe and sound.
  • Some of our security staff are covert, but most are easily identifiable due to their green or white tabards. Always ask them immediately if you need any kind of help.
  • There are security measures you will see and some you won’t. The entire site is monitored by staff on the ground who are supported by an extensive CCTV system watched 24/7 in Event Control.
  • We work very closely with local Police and security services to ensure our procedures and protocols are informed by best practice. We invest considerable time and effort into our training and briefing and run various emergency exercises with the blue-light services.
  • Our larger festivals, have a team of sniffer dogs onsite working 24/7.
  • Please help us by reporting anything that doesn’t look right to you and please let us know via the nearest security or steward if you spot an area where we can do better.

CRIME PREVENTION

The relaxed atmosphere at festivals can offer easy targets for criminals. Take the same precautions as you would normally and please read through the advice below and plan ahead. We are always keen to reduce crime but if we are to achieve this we need you to:

  • Only bring what you need.
  • Avoid bringing or withdrawing large amounts of cash. At our larger festivals, there are normally cash machines onsite should you need a top up. Most of our festivals are cashless.
  • Only bring essential bank cards and make a note of the numbers and store at home to make cancellation easier if you do lose them.
  • Put your postcode on the property you do bring so it is identifiable or track your items – use GPS tracking on your phone.
  • If you arrive by car, make sure that you leave the doors and windows secure and remove any expensive items from view like sat navs, stereos, mobile phones.
  • When moving around the festival – especially near to stages – don’t put money, credit cards, mobile phones etc in your back pocket. Use pockets with zips or buy a money belt.

CRIME REPORTING

  • If a serious or life-threatening crime is being committed, please contact a member of security or steward immediately. In the very unlikely event that you can’t find a member of security or steward, please then call 999.
  • If you need to report a less serious crime, then again please report the issue to a member of security or steward. Information coming in live helps us to act quickly.
  • If you see someone committing a crime, try to remember as much as possible so you can report it including what clothes the suspect was wearing and any facial features. Make a note of exactly where you were using landmarks like toilets, fire lanes, fire towers or unusual tents.
  • If you think you have had something stolen from your person or your tent, check at lost property in case it is there.
    Crime-reporting forms and victim support are available onsite, and security and stewards will be able to inform you where they are located.
  • If you need to report the theft of a mobile phone, don’t forget to also contact your network provider and have the handset blocked.

CHILDREN

  • Some festivals are not suitable for very young children and don’t permit children under 5, some are very child friendly and attract many families so check the terms and conditions of your festival.
  • Under 16s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is over 18.
  • If you are bringing a child to a festival, make use of the mobile phone wristband system normally available when you first arrive onsite to write your mobile number on and put on your child’s wrist in case you lose each other.
  • Please note that entertainment onsite may contain nudity and swearing and that there will be acts which will be unsuitable for children which we are unable to classify due to the nature of live performance.
  • Lost and found children are looked after and co-ordinated via the Welfare Tent onsite but any member of security or steward will be able to help.

COMPLAINTS AGAINST STAFF

  • If you have an incident with a security guard, steward or any other member of our staff that you wish to tell us about, please make a note of their tabard number and/or the name on their pass so we’re able to identify the member of staff in question.
  • You can make complaints onsite in person at the Information Tent and Welfare or via email to [email protected] include as much information as possible, including a description, tabard number & colour, location, date and time.
  • All security and stewarding staff onsite are briefed on the complaints procedure.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

  • Entry to the premises will be refused to any person who appears to be intoxicated, is acting in a threatening manner or is violent.
  • Entry to the premises will be refused to anyone convicted by the police of an offence of drunkenness, violence or threatening behaviour, or the use or distribution of illegal substances.
  • Anyone caught burning toxic materials, creating large bonfires, throwing missiles, or taking part in any kind of anti-social behaviour that endangers other festival goers in any manner will be evicted from site immediately.

EVICTION

Festival Republic events are produced for the enjoyment of all those persons who attend. The licence for each festival is granted under strict conditions of attendance and public safety, prevention of disorder and prevention of public nuisance. Any person who disrupts the festival under any of the below sections will leave themselves liable for eviction from site. The decision as to the eviction will be at the discretion of the Eviction Team following advice from festival security staff and will be overseen by the Security Co-ordinator.

Persons will be liable for eviction under the following circumstances:

  1. Drugs
  2. Anti-Social Behaviour**
  3. Robbery
  4. No wristband
  5. Assault
  6. Theft
  7. Sexual assault
  8. Juvenile Drugs
  9. Breach of Terms & Conditions
  10. Having been arrested or cautioned in connection with a criminal offence, pending or post hand-over to the Police

**Unacceptable behaviour that can lead to eviction includes but is not limited to:

  • illegal activity
  • breaching the terms and conditions of entry
  •  failing to submit to a search upon entry to the site
  • offensive behaviour
  • throwing hard objects in the direction of people
  • encouraging others to behave badly by incitement
  • preventing our security or emergency services reacting to a situation
  • building or fuelling large bonfire
  • committing a criminal offence but not arrested by the police
  • in possession of unlawful drugs
  • unofficially selling alcohol, tobacco, counterfeit goods or any other unauthorised goods
  • ticket touting
  •  any other behaviour that leaves the festival open to prosecution or is not conducive to maintaining a safe event