How Festivals Beat the Heat: Cool Hacks to Survive Scorching Summers

Festivals are exciting events where people gather to enjoy music, food, and entertainment outdoors. However, the weather can have a huge impact on whether a festival is successful or not. Organisers spend months planning for all kinds of weather, but lately, they have had to think even more about heatwaves. Susan Tanner, who leads the National Outdoor Events Association and used to run the Bristol Balloon Fiesta, says that weather is always the biggest worry for organisers. She explains that climate change is making heatwaves more common, so festivals need to be ready for more hot days in the future.

To keep people safe during these hot events, organisers are coming up with new ideas. For example, at Bristol Sounds, the temperature reached 36 degrees Celsius, but the festival still went ahead. The organisers set up extra water stations and had a medical team ready to help anyone who felt sick from the heat. In London, another festival offered half-price water and free sunscreen to help people stay cool. Andy Bennett, a BBC Radio Somerset presenter who has been going to Glastonbury Festival since 1998, says he has seen a lot of changes over the years. There are now more water stations, and sometimes the gates open earlier when it is hot so people do not have to wait in the sun.

But organisers say that festival-goers also need to do their part. Susan Tanner suggests that people should bring their own water and sunscreen to help keep themselves safe. Some festivals have even started using tents that spray mist to cool people down. At Bristol Sounds, people were encouraged to bring refillable bottles and wear sunscreen. At Glastonbury Festival, Nich Woolf helps run the medical services. He says that most people do not get sick from the weather because the organisers do so much planning. Most of the medical cases are small injuries like bruises. Festivals are a great way to have fun, but everyone needs to work together to stay safe, especially as the weather gets hotter and more unpredictable.