News

Become a festival VOLUNTEER!

• 1st Jun 2010

So it's that time of year again, social networking feeds are rife with your friends boasting about their line up of festivals this year… but there's a problem… you haven't got a ticket to anything?

It's a place myself, and many friends of mine have found themselves in on numerous occasions, so what's the solution? VOLUNTEER!

It's a common myth that the festival volunteer will spend the entire weekend on a car park gate, seeing only a fleeting glimpse of the band they came to see before being (perhaps) whisked off in the back of a range rover to put out a fire with a plastic bucket of sand and argue with the disgruntled drunken residents of the campsite… but the truth of the matter is, it doesn't need to be that boring!

At present there are a number of opportunities (yes, even now the season has 'begun') to get on the festival volunteering bandwagon, here are a couple of sites:

Rockness & Camp Bestival: link …this is a site a friend of mine has used to gain shifts with 'peppermint bars' at the 'secret garden party' (which is unfortunately full, but you can always keep checking for cancellations… in the meantime, rockness and camp bestival are up for grabs!

Latitude, Reading & Leeds: link … the main festival republic site has an up to date list of fantastic opportunities, the main thing on offer here are for campsite assistants and oxfam stewards… it's also worth noting (for you journalistic types) the offer here to join the latitude on site news team… all you need is an example of your writing and you could be covering the festival direct from the site!

Womad & Isle of wight: link … the actual oxfam festival volunteer website has all you need to know on applying for these two festivals, with Womad boasting an impressive amount of places left, and isle of wight with limited space!

These are just a few ideas, however if you're serious, have a good look around, and remember it's not too late if you get applying now!… Also, if you've found a great link, or a company offering opportunities, post it below!