Get festival season ready: all you need to know  

After enjoying indoor events for several months, it's time to step back into the great outdoors again. There are just a few more nights until the European festival season kicks off in full swing. In this blog, we'll guide you through preparing for the festivals. Whether you're a festival beginner or a festival veteran, a quick reminder is always helpful. Here's your complete guide.

Bring enough warm clothes

Bringing warm clothes to a (Dutch) festival is essential due to the unpredictable weather, especially early in the festival season. Even if the day starts sunny, it can quickly turn cool. Warm layers like a jacket or sweater ensure you stay comfortable throughout the day and into the night. 

Advertisement

Adjust your clothes to the weather

Always check out the weather forecast for an outdoor event and base your clothing decisions on the sun or rain. A rainy day ahead? Ponchos are lifesavers. In the end, it all comes down to preparations. When you’re not sure about what to wear, wear layers. Events almost always have lockers, so use them! 

Bring sunscreen

Don't forget sunscreen for the festival - it protects your skin from harmful UV rays. Unprotected sun exposure can lead to sunburn, premature aging, and higher skin cancer risks. Use SPF 30 or above for a safer and fun festival experience. In general, you can pack small sunscreen bottles in your bag.

Protect your ears

At festivals, we still see a lot of people without hearing protection. If you’re reading this and you’re still not wearing them - this is your sign to buy them. Earplugs are necessary at music festivals to protect your hearing from loud noise exposure, leading to potential hearing damage or long-term hearing loss. Earplugs reduce the volume while preserving the clarity of the music, allowing you to enjoy the event without risking your hearing. They also prevent ringing in the ears (tinnitus). Using earplugs allows you to enjoy the festival atmosphere to the fullest while reducing the risk of hearing damage.

Custom earplugs are recommended for optimal ear protection. Despite the higher price tag, they provide the best fit for your ears. Quick reminder: It's a good idea to check your earplugs every year, as your ears can change over time. However, nowadays, you can also find excellent earplugs with music filters. Take the time to explore your options and select the earplugs that match your budget and needs.

Stay hydrated

You may have heard it a thousand times, but we’re still going to talk about hydration. Drinking enough water is very important for your health at a festival. Festivals often involve being outdoors, walking around, and dancing. In these conditions, your body sweats more to cool itself down. Drinking enough water helps prevent dehydration, which can cause symptoms like dizziness, confusion, fatigue, and even fainting.

On top of that, water helps regulate your body temperature, especially in hot weather or crowded festival environments. If you're not hydrated, your body can struggle to cool itself down, leading to potential overheating and heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

Pack your bag 

Before heading to the event, make sure to pack a few festival essentials. These are must-haves in your bag for a day festival:

✦ ID-card 
✦ Debit card
✦ Earplugs
✦ Sunglasses
✦ Sunscreen
✦ First aid kit (with paracetamol, Ibuprofen, band-aids)
✦ Chewing gum
✦ Hand fan
✦ Cap for a bottle of water

Don't miss ticket sales (and plan ahead)

Are you planning on having a full summer with many harder styles festivals? We suggest buying your tickets on time, since festivals tend to sell out fast. For example, all Saturday tickets for Intents and Defqon.1 are sold out already. It's important to keep an eye on the start of ticket sales before your beloved tickets sell out.

In case all your friends have already purchased tickets and the festival is sold out, and you're too late to get yours, give Ticketswap a try. Opting for Ticketswap is the safest option when purchasing (or selling) tickets, as many tickets will receive a completely new barcode.

Enjoy every moment

It may already be very busy when you arrive at the festival site. Nobody likes a long line full of people at the entrance before entering a festival, but there’s nothing you can do about it. So, try to enjoy the time spent waiting with your friends or use the time to make new connections. Although not every moment of the festival will be perfect (we're looking at you, queues for less-than-ideal toilets), we suggest trying to enjoy every moment.

Realize how lucky you are

All good things come to an end, even weekend festivals… However, there's no need to be sad, as you'll have the chance to live through this again and again after waiting out the entire indoor season! Remember that the end shows at harder styles festivals are always the most memorable. Get ready for the lasers and the fireworks! What an amazing end to the day. Are you ready to do this once again next week?

Want to know about the festivals coming up? Take a peek at our Events Agenda to find out where you can enjoy the sun, drink some icecold beers, and listen to the top hardstyle tracks with your friends.

Header image via Facebook page Decibel outdoor Festival