Party with Purpose: Sustainable Strategies for Festival-Goers

When and where is the concert? Would you be able to extend your stay or combine the event with your holidays in that town?

• Are you traveling with a group? When choosing the train, check if your region offers reduced fares for group tickets. This makes the ride not only cheaper but also provides a safer environment for traveling together. It also does not require any of you to voluntarily refrain from drinking. If you choose to travel by car, carpooling is the option to go for. Maybe you or a friend of yours has an e-vehicle so that you can save on your gasoline budget?
• What are you allowed to bring to the venue? At every concert, a bunch of items are thrown away as people get stuff that is not permitted at the venue. Leave things like these at home to save the environment from being trashed further, and keep all your beloved items.
• Check if bringing in reusable cups, bottles, dishes, and leftover boxes is an option. If yes, save some space in your backpack for those. That way, you reduce the waste and can enjoy the snacks you buy for a long time.

Check which items are allowed before starting your journey to the festival so that you do not have to throw your favorite things away.

Be mindful of the others surrounding you. Attending a festival is great to meet people from all over the world. There is nothing better than making friends who share your love for music. Look around and offer your support if you see that anybody may need it. However, be mindful and ask before helping; for instance, do not just grab someone’s wheelchair and move it somewhere without the person’s permission.

• Use reusable cups and cutlery! If you were not allowed to bring them in, take the items you get with your first food and drink to reuse them during the festival. Be aware that vendors are already routined to hand out the food and drinks in plastic bags accompanied by plastic knives, forks, and spoons. The best strategy is to make them aware that you will not need these at the beginning and hand over your box so that they can fill it with food and drinks.
• Try vegan offers. Consuming less meat and dairy products reduces greenhouse gas production and the global share of land needed to grow animal food. If everyone were vegan, only a quarter of the current farmland would be required to feed everybody. Reducing the amount of animal products needed is the first step; the best way is to discover alternatives. A festival is an excellent opportunity to try new things. You may eat a delicious lentil curry or vegetable toast or drink an organic spicy smoothie that you have never tasted before. Additionally, you will also protect your health by doing so. The conditions of a festival (often hot, lasting several days) make it difficult to control the cooling chain 100%. Animal products can quickly go bad, so eating vegan options is safer to avoid any bacteria or food poisoning that knock you down. We do not want this year’s highlight to become a nightmare! If you go with a whole group of friends, you can also set yourself a challenge and see who eats the least animal products during the festival.
• If the festival takes several days or you choose to extend the musical event with a holiday stay, you should inform yourself carefully before deciding where to stay. Choosing a location close to the festival may be expensive and overcrowded, but you may find one with good public transportation connections to the venue. If the festival organizer has a sustainability focus, they may even provide free or reduced tickets. If you do not find this information on the webpage during the booking process, reach out to them and ask. Even if they do not have those offers this time, they see your interest and may implement it during the next tour. However, distance is not the only criterion when considering where to stay. It is also worth looking into criteria such as whether the accommodation uses renewable energy, provides local and organic breakfast, treats its employees well, and has a long-term sustainability strategy. Look here for more in-depth criteria, which you can look for when booking. By downloading the ChargeHolidays-App you can also directly filter according to sustainability criteria.

Get ready for post-event memories: souvenirs & merchandise

To keep your memories or share your experience with the ones who stayed at home, everyone loves souvenirs. When buying merch, make sure that it is something you will actually use. You have just broken one of your cups, and it would be a joy to start your day with a delicious tea from a cup with the logo of your favorite artist? Do you need new sunglasses because you lost your old ones and found nice ones with the band’s logo? Great. Finding something you or the one you bring the gift will use, is much more fun and enables you to connect your daily routine with joyful memories – instead of having swag you store in a drawer and never look at it again for the next decade.

Asking questions inspires others to change!

Before, during, and after the event: Get active.

• You want your favorite artist to care? Reach out to them. You will be astonished about how important the public opinion of the fans is for celebrities. When you ask them about their travel and touring behavior, you make clear that sustainability is essential. Get together with a group of like-minded fans, supporting your claim for more sustainable touring behavior by your idol. You can contact your favorite artist via email, texting, or commenting on social media posts. Remember: the more sustainable they travel, the more events are possible without destroying our planet.
• Share your experience with your friends via word of mouth, blog entries, videos, and posts on social media. When emphasizing your sustainable practices, they will be inspired to behave similarly in the future, and you can exponentially increase your positive impact together. Here are some posting ideas: