Not content with a muddy meadow full of sweaty revellers, British music fans are now looking for festival fun further afield.
According to IQ’s European Music Festival Report published this year, attendance was up 6.8 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014, and this figure looks likely to increase as the European festival market continues to grow in popularity. Live music lovers are abandoning summer showers and heading for the sunnier climes and exciting line-ups at festivals in mainland Europe.
The explosion of new, smaller festivals in European countries like Croatia is providing the ideal solution for festival-goers with 16 new events launched last year including Unknown, SunceBeat and Echo. Poland offers OFF Festival in Katowice, while Hungary is staging Sziget in Budapest with Rihanna, Muse and David Guetta headlining, and Flow festival is hosting Iggy Pop, Chvrches and Sia in Helsinki, Finland.
Live music lovers can also head to events in Holland, Germany and France for sunny summer festivals with great headliners.
Top tech for festivals:
•Find My Friends app – locate lost festival buddies via GPS on your smartphones, as long as they accept a text invite from you (stalking averted)
•Glow sticks – perfect for raving and moshing, but also a handy dim light for in the tent late at night
•Escape travel card – forget carrying wads of cash, just withdraw what you need from the ATM each day or pay using card and contactless machines where possible
•Pocket mobile phone charger – juice up your phone to stay charged all day to communicate with your group and to capture the most memorable moments
Escape travel card is a new client of ours; so if you’re heading to a music festival in Europe this summer, visit http://www.escapetravelcard.com and sign up for yours.
It’s important to harness ‘fan power’ and, with festival-goers connected, Tweeting, checking in, live streaming, and more, it’s important for brands to ensure they communicate with their audiences, wherever they may be in the world.
At Jam, we are experienced in creating strong digital campaigns for our clients, including developing their social media presence. To find out how we could support your business, get in touch with our MD, Jaime@jampr.co.uk or call 0161 850 0565.
