Checklist: How to Foolproof Your Festival Operations

As a festival or event director, you’re pretty much a logistics guru. To get your festival or special event off the ground, you need to work out countless details. These include WiFi, staffing, and contingency planning.

To make sure you’ve covered your bases before the day of your event, download this checklist. Check off the key tasks you need to accomplish pre-event, including:

• Preparing your venue for fast, safe entry
• Setting up on-site technology
• Prepping your team for day-of success

PREVIEWS

With enough planning and preparation, you can ensure that your festival goes o without a hitch. Use this checklist to make sure you’re ready for anything.

1. Prepare Your Venue for Entry

To enable fans to park, enter, and flow through your festival without any glitches, complete the tasks below:

-Create a detailed, to-scale site map of the entire venue

-Map out your attendee flow, from entry to points of sale to the main attraction

-Research local regulations and permitting — and touch base with the police department

-Understand local traffic patterns and create a back-up plan for worst-case scenarios

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2. Choose Your Technology and Staffing Wisely

Long before the day of the festival, make sure you have the right resources in place. Check o the boxes below as you make decisions about two important types of resources:

Technology Resources

-Choose a solid ticketing provider with a proven platform and an on-site logistics team

-Obtain scanning equipment that can handle large amounts of attendees fast

-Secure a local, private WiFi network for your ticketing equipment

-Make sure you have a direct power source for your equipment and WiFi

Want to keep reading? Simply download the form at the top of this page.

Staffing Resources

-Designate a box office or gate manager who has experience using your event technology

-Create a entry strategy for your biggest rush of check-ins

-Assign specific jobs (wristbanding, ID check, etc.) to each staff member to speed things up and avoid confusion

-Designate a trusted safekeeper for valuable inventory like RFID bracelets and VIP lanyards

3. Execute Confidently

The day will arrive when all your planning will be put to the test. Up your chances of success with the following on-the-ground actions:

-Conduct a quick last-minute tech training for staff before opening

-Issue walkie-talkies to all key players, and assign a separate channel to each department

-Use barriers to create an entry chute that funnels fans smoothly into your check-in point

-Place line barkers at the start of your lines to yell directions to the crowd and ask them to have their IDs out (if necessary)

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