Festivals are here to stay! Music, dancing, sunshine, and clear blue skies—it's all part of the experience. Tickets sell like hotcakes, but how does it work? Want to organize your own festival?

The ultimate checklist for organizing a festival

There are many aspects to consider when organizing. The most important thing when organizing a festival is, of course, the content.

1. Implementation of the roadmap

What kind of event or festival do you want to organize? What is the goal? Who is my target audience? How many people do I want to attend? What kind of decorations do I want at the festival? Is it a free public festival or do people pay for a ticket? It is important to translate the answers to all these questions into a concrete plan. Who, what, and when are the key elements of your script. Based on this plan, you can see which external parties you need to arrange everything. Think of catering, entertainment, the municipality (for permits), and staff for the day itself! 

2. Location and date

Now for the most practical aspects of the festival once you have decided on the program. Where will the festival take place and on what date? It is important to take the capacity and noise pollution of the location into account. Another important aspect is whether it will be an indoor or outdoor event. Different costs are involved depending on the type of event. For an outdoor event, for example, you have to take the weather into account, but for an indoor event, you have to consider the location and availability. 

When setting a date for the festival, it is important to check availability with the municipality. It is also important to consider what needs to be arranged in advance and whether this can be done within the planned timeframe. Keep in mind public holidays when people are off work, but suppliers may be closed. 

3. Budget

You now know what kind of festival you are organizing, when it will take place, and where the event will be held. Now you can start working on a budget. Combine this budget with the plan you have made and look at your expenses. How are you going to finance these expenses? How many tickets do you need to sell before you have covered the costs? Do you need sponsors to at least break even? You could also consider sponsorship for the decoration of your festival, for example, parasols with their logo on them. 

It is important that you request a large number of quotes at the beginning and compare them carefully. This will ensure you achieve an optimal profit margin and avoid unnecessary costs. Based on the quotes, you can estimate the costs and thus determine how much your festival tickets should cost or how much the catering should charge. It is important that you also estimate what the sales will be on such a festival day. 

4. Licenses and insurance 

Better safe than sorry! Make sure your permits are in order and that you are insured if something goes wrong. For festivals, you often need multiple permits, such as a catering permit, event permit, or environmental permit. Tip: make an appointment with the municipality and start early! Applying for a permit takes quite some time and you will usually only receive it after at least 8 weeks. Once your permits have been approved, you still need to take care of the promotion and your staff.

In addition to obtaining all the necessary permits, you naturally want everything to be done safely. Think about what insurance you need. Insurance limits the risks involved in organizing your event. Business liability insurance is one of the most important types of insurance, because the event is not covered by your own liability insurance. 

Draw up general terms and conditions! What rules apply before, during, and after your festival? Will people get their money back if the festival is unexpectedly canceled? 

5. Staff and promotion 

Last but not least: your staff and promotion. How do you distinguish yourself from other festivals, and why would flex workers want to work at your festival? Organizing staff for a festival can be quite a task. Usually, you don't have your own staff, and you only need them for a day or a few days. Are you going to hire people just for that? Of course not!

Fleks has the ideal solution for this and can serve as your event management software . You enter the services that need to be filled with the number of people you need, and we connect you with staffing agencies that have the right personnel. 

You can also add a workflow so that your staff are well prepared for your own festival! With the workflow, you determine which steps your employees must complete during their shift. A workflow is always linked to a shift. This means that you can create different workflows for different types of shifts, such as bar duty or catering duty. You can create an infinite number of workflows. You are completely in charge! You can create a quiz in the workflow to check whether employees have read the briefing properly. At the end of their shift, they can fill out an evaluation so that you know what they thought of the work and what could be improved. Finally, they can claim their travel expenses and hours, making payroll a breeze for you!

As you can read above, there is a lot involved in organizing your own festival. Thanks to the Fleks staff planning app, you don't have to worry about your staff. With Fleks, you can keep track of everything in real time, even during your festival! 

Try it now for free