Safety & Security
Useful information and tips for your weekend
Medical Team
The medics at Wilderness are experienced, qualified, fully equipped to deal with situations and available for anyone who requires medical assistance during the festival. Look out for your fellow festival-goers and inform a steward or a member of security if you notice that someone is unwell.
Medical Tent
The medical tent is located in the arena towards the Main Stage & Sanctuary and is open 24hrs. Please familiarise yourself with its location on our Festival Map. If you are feeling unwell visit it as soon as you can.
Medication
If you need to bring medication with you, we recommend bringing a copy of your doctor’s letter or prescription. There will be a fridge available in the medical tent if you require cold storage for your medication.
Pregnant Festivalgoers
Heavily pregnant visitors are advised to contact the medical team on arrival at the event to ensure they are aware of the services on offer.
The Welfare Tent
The Welfare Tent provides festival-goers with a hub of caring, experienced individuals to help you with even the smallest of issues. If you are feeling pressured, upset, emotional or just want a friendly face to talk to, head to the Welfare tent where the staff will be more than happy to help. If you do not have a medical requirement but need someone to talk to, please head to our Welfare Tent in the first instance.
The welfare tent is located in the arena towards the Main Stage & Sanctuary and is open 24hrs. Please familiarise yourself with its location on our Festival Map.
Ask for Angela
We are supporting the Ask for Angela campaign, which is operational across all our festivals and is briefed to all staff members, including security, stewards & bar staff. Ask for Angela is an initiative aimed to provide support in a discreet manner for anyone experiencing harassment of any kind. Customers are encouraged to go to a member of bar staff or security and ‘Ask for Angela’.
Sensory area
Next to medical and welfare in the arena will be our Sensory Calm Space, brought to you by Event Well.
Wilderness presented by Audi welcomes festivalgoers of all ages and is a family-friendly environment. However, there are a few things to note before your family arrive.
- Under 18s tickets can only be booked alongside an adult ticket (max 4 per adult).
- Under 18s must arrive with an adult (18+).
- Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult (18+) at all times.
- We have 3 tiers of under 18 tickets: Child:0-5yr | Junior: 6-12yrs | Teen: 13-17yrs
Top Tips for Child Safety
- Take a photo of your children on your mobile phone in the morning so that you have the most recent photo on you.
- Big crowds can be daunting for children. To avoid separating from them, we advise giving them a copy of your phone number and the same advice you would if you were anywhere else; don’t go off with strangers or anyone without telling you first and give them a copy of your phone number.
- If they get lost, have them ask for help from the nearest Security or Steward.
Child Wristbands
All parents/guardians booking tickets for children will be issued a contact wristband for their child. If you are not given one of these you can request one at Box Offices and The Info Tent. Please clearly fill these out with the relevant parent/guardian contact details.
If a child's wristband is lost or damaged, a new one can be provided by our wristbanding teams, at the Box Offices, campsite receptions, the Info Tent and Welfare Tents.
Reporting a lost child
If you find a lost child or have lost a child please head to one of our Campsite Hubs, the Welfare or Info Tent in the arena, whichever is closest.
TIP: It's a good idea to take a photo of your children on your mobile phone in the morning so that you have the most recent photo on you.
Give your child a copy of your phone number and advise them if they get lost, to ask for help from the nearest Security or Steward.
Camping
Safety in numbers, set up camp with friends and create a community with your new neighbours. Say hello, and get to know each other so you can look out for each other’s pitches.
Be untidy in your tent – don’t leave everything in one bag that can be grabbed quickly.
Do not challenge anyone you find looking through your tent. Take a mental image of what they look like and report them to festival security or the police.
Don’t leave valuables in your tent. Remember that tents are impossible to make secure, even if they’re zipped. Lockers are available in the arena in 2 locations.
Cars
If you arrive by car, make sure that you leave the doors and windows secure and remove any expensive items from view like sat navs, stereos, mobile phones. Don’t leave anything valuable in your car.
Empty all belongings from our glove compartment and leave it open.
Rub off any marks left by sat nav on your windscreen.
If you witness a crime or are unfortunate enough to become a victim of crime it is important that you report it immediately so we can act on it as soon as possible – you can do this by finding your nearest security guard. It’s much easier for us if we have as much information as possible. If you can remember the appearance, clothing etc. of the person and the exact details of where you were at the time the likelihood of us finding them is far greater.
Crime prevention
The relaxed atmosphere at festivals can offer easy targets for criminals. Take the same precautions as you would normally and please read through the advice below and plan ahead.
- Only bring what you need.
- Avoid bringing or withdrawing large amounts of cash. There are normally cash machines onsite should you need a top up.
- Only bring essential bank cards and make a note of the numbers and store at home to make cancellation easier if you do lose them.
- Put your postcode on the property you do bring so it is identifiable or track your items – use GPS tracking on your phone.
- If you arrive by car, make sure that you leave the doors and windows secure and remove any expensive items from view like sat navs, stereos, mobile phones.
- Say hello to your neighbours and get to know them so you can look out for each other’s pitches.
- Don’t leave valuables in your tent. Remember that tents are impossible to make secure even if they’re zipped. Lockers and Left Luggage facilities are available on most sites.
- Move anything of worth away from your tent door as you sleep. Don’t put a padlock on your tent as this indicates there are valuables inside. Don’t bury your valuables by your tent as someone is bound to be watching.
- When moving around the festival – especially near to stages - don’t put money, credit cards, mobile phones etc in your back pocket. Use pockets with zips or buy a money belt.
If a member of the stewarding, security team or any other member of our staff, has bothered you in any way and you wish to tell us about it, please let us know directly at the Info Tent or contact us.
If you're able to, please make a note of their tabard number and/or the name on their pass so it's easier for us to identify the member of staff in question.
We take staff misconduct very seriously so please let us know.
- Please do not rely on phone signal at the festival. Decide a meeting point with your friends at the beginning of the festival so you can find each other with ease and carry on having a good time.
- Festivals are all about meeting new people, but if you meet someone new it’s best to invite them to join your friends first, rather than seeing them alone.
- At night, stick to the well-lit areas of the festival. Always keep a torch on you.
- If you are feeling pressured, upset, emotional or just want a friendly face to talk to, head to the Welfare tent where the staff will be more than happy to help.
- Always keep your drink on you and don’t put it down without keeping an eye on it.
- Never accept drinks from strangers.
- Choose your crew carefully, look out for each other and be aware of how you are affected by sun / dehydration / alcohol / drugs / not eating properly.
- We do not condone any usage of drugs. Drug Detection Dogs will be operating throughout the event. Please don’t be alarmed; they are here for everyone's safety.
- We take all reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault seriously. It is not acceptable to grope, threaten or harass others. If this happens to you, speak out and we will help you.
- If you need to get out of a situation, just leave, don’t feel embarrassed. Ask security or stewards for help.
- Always remember, sexual assault is never the victim’s fault. We have a dedicated Safeguarding team on site, if you need to speak to them, speak to a member of staff and we will point you in the right direction.
If there is an emergency, such as a medical emergency, a serious or life-threatening crime being committed, an out-of-control fire or any other comparably serious incident, please contact the nearest security or steward immediately. In the very unlikely event that you are unable to find someone, please call 999.
If there is an evacuation, please follow the directions of staff or any announcements. There are emergency exits all around the perimeter of the arena.
Fire Safety
In the event of extremely hot and/or dry weather, we reserve the right to ban any items that could be a fire risk. In general, please follow the steps below to ensure you're keeping yourself and the park fire safe:
- Absolutely no candles. These are very dangerous inside a tent, so use electric torches in and around tents only.
- Absolutely no campfires.
- When enjoying the firepits in the arena, please be sensible and fire-safe. Do not through logs onto the fire or do anything to cause it to burn rapidly. Fire marshal teams will be positioned at each fire pit.
- Cooking is only permitted on raised BBQs in our designated BBQ areas, provided the weather permits. Never cook inside your tent, and always keep any flammable materials well away from lit BBQs.
- Fireworks, smoke bombs, flares and gas canisters are not permitted and will be confiscated. Being found in possession of any leaves you liable to eviction, and the possession of flares and/or fireworks at a music event is now a criminal offence.
- Smoking is not permitted inside any spaces, including venues and tents. When disposing of a cigarette, please ensure it is fully extinguished and disposed of properly; do not drop it on the ground.
What to do if you discover a fire?
There is a festival firefighting team who are fully equipped to deal with fires, as well as fire extinguishers positioned throughout the site. If you spot a fire, please alert a member of security or a steward immediately.
- If a fire starts in your tent, get everyone out of the tent and evacuate the area as quickly as possible.
- You need to get help from the nearest security or steward who will call the festival firefighting team to extinguish the fire.
- Some security and stewards are provided with extinguishers/training/fire backpacks, so they may also be able to assist with smaller fires.
- If you discover a fire in its very early stages and think you can deal with it yourself, remember that fires can spread very quickly when there are flammable materials such as tents and rubbish about. Even a small, seemingly contained fire can spread quickly and produce smoke and fumes which can kill in seconds.
- If you are in any doubt then do not tackle the fire, no matter how small. Raise the alarm and keep other nearby festival goers away from the fire until it has been contained and properly extinguished.
- Here is a simple fire code to help you decide whether to put out, or get out:
- Only tackle a fire in its very early stages.
- Always put your own and other people’s safety first.
- Make sure you can escape if you need to and that the fire is not blocking your exit.
- Fire extinguishers are only for fighting a fire in its very early stages. Never tackle a fire if it is starting to spread or has spread to other items nearby.
- Around 70% of fire deaths are caused by people being overcome by smoke and fumes.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, highly poisonous gas that can kill in minutes. Carbon Monoxide poisoning can be caused by ANY fuel that burns or smoulders.
If you are lighting a portable camping stove / BBQ:
- Make sure your camping light and stove are clean and properly adjusted.
- Never take a portable barbecue – or lit charcoal – into an enclosed space like a tent or caravan.
- Watch out for the symptoms:
- Mild headache
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Drowsiness
Entry Refusal
Entry to the premises will be refused to anyone who:
- Appears to be intoxicated, is acting in a threatening manner or is violent.
- Is convicted by the police of an offence of drunkenness, violence or threatening behaviour, or the use or distribution of illegal substances.
Eviction
Festival Republic events are produced for the enjoyment of all those persons who attend. The licence for each festival is granted under strict conditions of attendance and public safety, prevention of disorder and prevention of public nuisance. Any person who disrupts the festival under any of the below sections will leave themselves liable for eviction from site. The decision as to the eviction will be at the discretion of the Eviction Team following advice from festival security staff and will be overseen by the Security Co-ordinator.