How to organise a festival

In the Netherlands, the festival season traditionally kicks off around Easter and ends late September with hundreds taking place every year. Festival organisers face many challenges. Staff shortages, for example, and new regulations around the use of disposable plastic. 

Make a roadmap

Organising a festival starts with a detailed plan, the so-called roadmap. In this roadmap you outline how you will create that once-in-a-lifetime experience that your attendees will never forget. In your festival roadmap you need to address:

• Target audience
• Location and date
• Planning schedule
• Costs
• Safety
• Licences
• Risk limitation
• Promotion
• Evaluation

Determine your target audience

You organise your event for a specific group of festival goers, your target audience. If you identify their age, interests, and online and social activities, you will create a target group profile. For example, which social media channels do they use? Do they meet in the local trendy coffee shops, or at family gatherings? All these little details not only help you determine the type of festival you will be hosting, what the design should be, and what food trucks and musicians you need. They also form the basis for your marketing and communications strategy.

Secure the location and date

Do you have a location and date in mind? Ask your municipality about the possibilities. You will have to secure popular locations, such as beaches, at least a year in advance. When securing a location, think about:

• is it big enough?
• what facilities does it have?
• how you can minimise the noise for people living in the neighbourhood?

Set up a planning schedule

Planning is key. Fully describe all your activities, from setting up your festival to clearing up afterwards. Include planning for the programme, the venue, the number of tents, stalls, and stages, restroom facilities, and food trucks. Estimate the maximum number of visitors present at the same time. Once you have all this information, you can calculate the costs.

Choose a unique date

When planning your festival, factor in other festivals and events. Make sure that your event does not fall on the same date as other popular festivals. This way, you have a bigger chance of standing out.

Determine your costs

Organising a festival costs money. How much? That depends on several factors, such as the size, location, expected number of attendees, your marketing strategy, and whether you are organising it alone or with others. And what is your goal?. Is it to make a profit?  Or are you more concerned with social objectives?  

Think about your business model. Will you sell tickets? Or will it be a free festival where you earn money from the catering? Ask for quotations from different companies and set a maximum budget. Keep an eye on your budget throughout the entire organising process. Is everything still within budget? Or do you need to adjust? Do not forget to reserve extra money for unforeseen expenses, like tents in case of bad weather.

How to get funding?

There are a number of ways to finance your event. Use the KVK Book of Finance to explore your options. For example, crowdfunding and sponsoring. Also check if the municipality has any subsidies you can apply for. .

Safety management

As a festival organiser, you are responsible for the safety of your visitors, artists and everyone working at the festival. So must draw up a safety plan (in Dutch). Ask the municipality where you are organising the festival what its requirements are. Your safety plan should set out what risks you expect and what measures you will take to limit those risks. Also pay attention to how you deal with alcohol and drug use (in Dutch).

Consult with public transport organisations. For example, are extra trains needed because everyone leaves at the same time after the event? Don't forget to include emergency exits and evacuation routes in your safety plan. 

Also, first aid personnel should be available at your festival. Find out more about standards for first aid at festivals (in Dutch).

Which permits will you need?

Depending on the type of festival, you as the organiser of the event will probably need to apply for one or more permits or licences. 

Permits are granted by the municipality where your event will take place. They must approve the venue, date, start and end times, and number of visitors. Often you also have to register on the municipality’s event calendar to get a permit.

So, the municipality is an important party when organising your festival. But you also have something to offer. Your festival can be good promotion for the city. 

Applying for permits

Apply for permits and licences well in advance. On average, it takes at least 8 weeks for applications to be processed. And you also need time after that to promote your event and attract enough visitors.

Permits and requirements that you may have to comply with are listed below.

Event licence

You apply for an event licence with the municipality where the festival is being held. The procedure varies per municipality. Ask for information about the requirements. The costs for licensing can range from €180 to €4,900. The costs depend on the size of the festival and the activities.

Tents and stages

Have a construction drawing prepared. This will make clear how the tents are constructed. In this construction drawing, you record the wind load on the tents or stages and the arrangements you made to ensure proper anchoring.

Music

Are you organising a music festival? Or do you intend to play music at your event? In that case, you have to comply with music rights. Ask the Dutch copyright organisation Buma/Stemra what the costs are and what you have to do about licensing for events that will happen more than one year.

Noise management

You have to consider the noise when you are hosting a music festival. It is not only the music that is loud, visitors can be noisy as well. That is why municipalities require a noise management plan. Is your venue near a residential area? In that case, there will be strict requirements for sound levels.

Alcoholic drinks

Only people aged 18 or over are allowed to serve alcohol independently. They can only sell it to people aged 18 or over. Staff who are 16 or 17 years old are allowed to serve alcohol, but not drink it. And they must be supervised by a manager who is at least 21. The name of this manager must be included in your permit. Young people under the age of 16 are not allowed to work in places where alcohol is served.

Food and non-alcoholic drinks

Do you sell food or soft drinks? Then you have to consider hygiene and food safety. You have to comply with the rules of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA, in Dutch). An example is the hygiene code for the hospitality industry. Are you going to hire food trucks or other caterers? Ask if they have the proper permits.

Fireworks

If you plan on having fireworks, you will need an application permit. You also have to notify the provincial authority, or ask for permission to light the fireworks (Ontbrandingstoestemming). There are strict rules for transport, storage, weight, and lighting fireworks.

Limit your risks

If you organise an event, there will be risks. You can limit these risks by choosing a legal structure that is suitable for your situation.

You can also insure risks. A business liability insurance covers the damage that you cause others. Bear in mind that the liability of your business is not covered by your personal liability insurance. You can also take out a legal expenses’ insurance for professional legal support for a business dispute, for instance.

And do not forget to draw up general terms and conditions. General terms and conditions are the rules that apply to you as well as the festival goers.

New rules on disposable plastics

Since 1 January 2024, disposable plastic cups and crockery are banned at festivals. As an alternative to disposable cups, you can use reusable cups. These can be bought or rented. Make your visitors pay a deposit so that they return the cups. Some festivals work with deposit systems or tokens for cups. 

Exception

If you have a collection system for high-quality recycling of plastic cups and containers, the ban on free plastic cups and containers does not apply. High-quality recycling means collecting the cups and containers and reusing them as packaging material for food or drinks after recycling. The exception applies only if you collect at least 75% (in 2024). The percentage increases each year to 90% in 2027.

Promoting your festival

With so many festivals taking place in the Netherlands, you have plenty of competition. You want your festival to stand out from all the others. You do this by focusing on the experience of your future visitors. You need to think about promotion, social media, online activities, appearance, colours, and design of the event before you start. You can engage people on social media in advance by involving them in the preparations for your event. 

On the day itself, you can use event hashtags, apps, and video screens for information about the line-up, and short backstage videos. During and after the event, you continue to use the socials to stay connected to the visitors’ emotions and reactions, and respond to messages. 

Evaluate and measure the success of your event

Evaluate and analyse the festival afterwards. You learn from this for the next edition. How did the visitors feel about your festival? Will they be back next time? And why? Or why not? How is your website traffic? Do visitors leave your site quickly or stick around?

Make sure that you are active on social media and ask festival goers for their input on how you can improve your event. In exchange, you could offer free tickets or a VIP arrangement.

Tip! Go along to other festivals and look at how they are organised.