COVID-19 guidance for festivals

Updated guidance was launched on 13 October 2020 which includes contributions from across the festival industry working in collaboration with the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)  and Public Health England.

The festival guidance around Covid-19 will assist festival organisers, safety advisory group members, local directors of public health and other industry parties in assessing risk levels and planning festivals based on a flexible, pragmatic and realistic approach to the current pandemic.

A festival can be defined as;

"A single event offering a series of music performances or music and other entertainments which is marketed as a festival and is held at a predominantly outdoor site using temporary infrastructure which is:
(i) erected for the purposes of that festival
(ii) used mainly for the purposes of that festival
(iii) substantially dismantled after the festival."

 It is also acknowledged that city-based festivals can similarly be defined as:

"A single event offering a series of music performances or music and other entertainments, which is marketed as a festival and is held at two or more indoor venues or a combination of indoor and outdoor venues and sites, in both cases using temporary infrastructure which is:
(i) erected for the purposes of that festival
(ii) used mainly for the purposes of that festival
(iii) substantially dismantled after the festival."

The new guidance is available for free on The Purple Guide website

It covers nine themes, including

• Covid-19 Saftey Measures
• Medical and Welfare arrangements;
• Command,Control,Communication and Coordination
• Response Plans
• Specific Mitigation Measures
• Security
• Site Adjustments
• Crowd Considerations;
• Accreditation and Ticketing Strategy

We recognise that festival organisers, Hastings Safety Advisory Group (SAG),  local directors of public health and other industry parties, will have a lot to consider in relation to any festival(s) they plan to produce. It is strongly advised that they consider the following process:

• Assess the global, national and local COVID-19 situation
• Assess the current COVID-19 situation for the festival and what the future may hold
• Constantly review the Areas to Monitor section in this guidance where developments in clinical science and other national initiatives may prove beneficial, or otherwise
• Conduct a rigorous and bespoke COVID-19 risk assessment for the festival followed by the production of a mitigation checklist
• Determine whether producing the festival is operationally feasible and economically viable, in particular regarding any social distancing guidelines in place/likely to be in place
• At the outset, liaise with Hastings Borough Council 
• If planning to deliver the festival, then where necessary cement a 'golden thread' of COVID-19 safety measures and tactics into all relevant areas of the Event Management Plan (EMP), preferably in a manner agreed with Hastings Borough Council and the SAG in advance
• Operationally mitigate, as far as is reasonably practicable, the transmission of coronavirus and infected people entering the festival site
• Remain agile, adaptable, flexible and positive during the planning phase leading up to the show phase
• After the festival is successfully delivered, then capture the key debrief issues and lessons learnt to share with the festival industry for the benefit of all

Other useful documents

Official documentation referenced in the supplementary guidance:

• HMG Guidance on coronavirus
• The Purple Guide website (The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events)
• DCMS Performing Arts Guidance (Working safely during Coronavirus- Guidance for people in Performing Arts COVID-19 in the Outdoor Event Industry in England)
• SGSA Supplementary Guidance (Sports Grounds Safety Authority Supplementary Guidance to the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds, published July 2020)
• WHO (Key planning recommendations for mass gatherings in the context of COVID-19, published May 2020)
• Seven Principles for Arts & Cultural Organisations (Working Safely through COVID-19, published September 2020)

As the guidance is updated regularly, members of the working group will run monthly webinars to update the festival sector and others.