Festival Risk Management and Contingency Planning Early On

Murphy’s Law states: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. While that’s a bit pessimistic, seasoned festival organizers know that things do go wrong – often when you least expect it. The difference between a minor hiccup and a full-blown disaster often comes down to preparation. That’s why risk management and contingency planning from the get-go is so critical. By identifying potential risks early and having backup plans, you can prevent a domino effect of problems or at least respond swiftly to crises. In this article, we’ll go through common risks festivals face (from weather to no-shows to permit issues) and how to plan contingencies for each. We’ll also discuss the importance of an emergency response team and proper insurance coverage. Think of this as imagining all the ways your festival could be derailed, and then taking the power back by having a strategy to tackle each. As one bit of wisdom goes: “A successful event takes risk assessments, contingency plans, backup utilities and careful management of visitors from start to finish.” (In other words, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.)

Identifying Common Risks Early

Start your planning with a risk brainstorming session with your team. Ask “What could go wrong?” in every aspect of the festival:

• Weather and Natural Events: If it’s an outdoor event, is rain a concern? What about extreme heat, cold, high winds, or even snow depending on season? In some areas, extreme risks like hurricanes, wildfires, or earthquakes might be considerations. Even if your event is “rain or shine,” heavy rain could still disrupt things (muddy grounds, lightning causing evacuations, etc.).
• Low Ticket Sales / Financial Shortfall: A big one – what if you don’t sell enough tickets or a sponsor backs out last minute? That affects your budget and possibly ability to pay vendors or even continue with the event.
• Key Vendor or Act No-Show: What if the headline artist cancels a week out (or day of)? Or your food truck supplier pulls out? Or the staging company suddenly goes bankrupt (has happened!) and can’t deliver?
• Technical Failures: Power outage, generator failure, sound system malfunctions, lighting rig collapse, ticket scanning system going down, Wi-Fi failure (if you depend on it for payments).
• Safety Incidents: Medical emergencies (heart attack in the crowd, dehydration, overdose in worst cases), fights or security issues, lost children, a structure (like a speaker tower or tent) becoming unsafe, fire, etc.
• Permit or Legal Issues: Imagine the fire department not approving your site setup last minute, or an authority revoking a permit because of some oversight. Or noise complaints forcing you to turn down volume. Or a last-minute change in COVID regulations or other health mandates.
• Staff/Volunteer Shortages: If key staff fall ill near the event, or not enough volunteers show up, you could be understaffed. Also labor strikes or transport strikes could affect crew or attendees (e.g., a transit shutdown).
• Community/Public Relations Problems: Perhaps local residents threaten to protest or shut down the event due to some grievance, or a negative media story that tarnishes your image right before the fest.
• Acts of God or Others: That catch-all that could include terrorist threats, pandemics, etc. Unlikely but as 2020 taught us, not impossible.

It’s a bit like making a horror story list, but it’s necessary. Once you have the list of “scary scenarios,” assess the likelihood and impact of each. Focus on ones that are either likely or would have a huge impact (or both).

For example, rain at some point might be likely and can have moderate impact, so plan for weather. A terrorist attack is extremely unlikely but high impact – you still plan security but maybe not as much detail as rain. Low ticket sales might be somewhat likely if early indicators are weak and would have high impact (financial ruin), so plan heavily around that scenario.

Creating Contingency Plans

For each significant risk, outline a contingency plan – essentially, “If X happens, we will do Y.”

• Weather Contingencies:

  • Rain: Do you have access to tents or covered areas? Have ponchos to give out? Is the stage waterproofed? Perhaps rent flooring for high-traffic muddy areas. Also, decide on a rain-or-shine policy in ticket terms (usually festivals say no refunds for weather unless safety forces cancellation). But have a threshold: e.g., “If lightning within 5 miles, pause the show and instruct attendees to shelter.” That means identifying shelter locations (cars, buses, a nearby building) in advance.
  • Heat: Arrange free water refill stations, misting tents, cooling areas, and on-site medics ready for heatstroke cases. Announce “stay hydrated” often. Maybe adjust performance times or provide more shade if a heatwave is forecast.
  • Severe Weather (Storms, High Winds): Know at what wind speed you must take down certain structures (tents often have a max wind rating). Have a storm evacuation plan: who decides, how to communicate to attendees (PA announcements, text alert system?), and where to direct people. Practice in tabletop exercises with your team what to do if a storm hits mid-event.
  • Air Quality Issues (like wildfire smoke): Possibly have masks ready or an indoor refuge if available, and be ready to communicate any health advisories.

• Low Ticket Sales / Budget Shortfall:

  • Have a “Plan B” scaled-down budget. For instance, identify expenses that could be cut or reduced if by a certain date sales are lagging. This might mean letting go of an expensive feature (maybe fewer fancy lights, or one less side attraction) to save money, or renegotiating a contract to smaller scope.
  • Set trigger points: e.g., “If one month out we have sold less than 50% of target tickets, then we do X.” X could be offer deeper discounts to boost volume, or cut the second stage on the second day to reduce costs (communicate transparently to ticket buyers why if that happens).
  • Line up an emergency funding option. Perhaps a personal backup fund or a friendly investor who agrees to step in with a short-term loan if needed (with clear terms).
  • Also, push marketing harder or differently if sales are low – basically, have a contingency marketing boost plan (some budget reserved for last push or a media partner to help).

• Artist or Vendor Cancellation:

  • Always maintain a short list of backup performers. If your headliner drops, who is a feasible replacement? Maybe you can’t get an equally famous act last minute, but have relationships in place to quickly book someone. Consider drafting a plan with your talent buyer: perhaps hold a small portion of budget as “oh crap” money to snag a replacement if someone bails. Or have a local band that can step up on short notice.
  • For vendors: If a food vendor cancels, have a waitlist of vendors who applied or be in touch with a catering service that could fill in. If a production supplier fails, know alternate suppliers. Networking with industry peers helps – you might call a colleague for a favor to borrow or rent gear quickly.
  • In contracts, try to include clauses that require notice if canceling and maybe penalties (though collecting can be hard). But that at least pushes them to tell you early.
  • For any critical one-supplier items (like only one company provides power), see if you can have a backup generator on standby or a backup tech on-call.

• Technical Failure:

  • Have backup equipment where reasonable: spare projector for a film fest, backup laptops for registration, extra radios for staff, backup generators or fuel supply for power (or at least a 24/7 generator repair contact). Many production managers bring backup mics, cables, mixer if possible.
  • If the ticket scanning system fails (internet down maybe), have a backup procedure like printed lists or offline mode on scanners, or the ability to switch to manual wristbanding. Do a drill: “We lost internet, switch to Plan B” – that could mean using a hotspot, or physically tearing tickets, etc.
  • Power outage plan: If everything goes dark, how do you evacuate safely at night? Have emergency lights (batteries or generator separate circuit) and train staff to calmly guide people out if needed.
  • Work closely with tech vendors to know their own contingency. e.g., does the stage audio provider have spare amps on site? You can also contractually request certain backups (though at a cost).

• Safety & Emergency Response:

  • Form an Emergency Response Team early (this could be key ops folks, security head, medical lead, etc.). Develop a documented Emergency Action Plan (EAP). It should cover scenarios: medical emergency, fire, severe weather, security threat, lost child, etc., with roles and protocols for each.
  • Coordinate with local emergency services. Invite police, fire, EMT to review your plans. Often, as part of permitting, they require an emergency plan and will give input. Know how you’ll contact them quickly (radios, a direct line).
  • Plan an on-site emergency drill or at least a desktop walkthrough. For instance, ask “If a fire breaks out at food tent row, what do we do?” Answer: who calls 911, who activates extinguishers (have them and train staff to use), how do we clear people from area, does music stop, where’s the evacuation route etc.
  • Set up a command center on site where key personnel can gather if something serious happens and coordinate response.
  • Have first aid and medical clearly integrated: location of medical tent, ambulances on standby if needed, method to communicate injuries (many use coded radio calls to not alarm public). E.g., “Code Blue at Stage 2” might mean a medical situation at stage 2.
  • Lost child protocol: designate a reunification point (lost & found or info tent doubling as lost child center), train staff how to handle (don’t broadcast child’s name widely, secure them safely until parent found, etc.).
  • Crowd management: Think of contingencies if a crowd surges (e.g., if one stage gets unexpectedly overcrowded). Have barriers and entry/exit control, and staff briefed to manage lines or politely redirect people if needed. In worst-case crowd panic scenarios, staff should know to guide and not add to confusion.

• Permit Issues and Bureaucracy:

  • Mitigate by doing things early: meet officials, ask many questions to avoid missing a compliance issue.
  • However, if a permit is delayed, have a plan: perhaps delay a particular activity or modify it to operate without a certain permit. Example: if your liquor license is late, can you plan a contingency of making parts of event BYOB (if legally allowed) or have alternative beverage plans?
  • If the venue falls through: identify an alternate venue early, even if just in concept. Or have a clause in venue contract for a refund if the venue can’t host so you have funds to shift.
  • Track deadlines: Make a master list of all permits, who’s responsible to get them, and follow-up milestones. No last-minute “we forgot to get a generator permit” surprises.

• Health Risks (like pandemics, etc.):

  • We learned the need for flexibility: consider refund policies, ability to reschedule, etc., if something massive like a pandemic hits. Maybe have an insurance that covers communicable disease cancellation (though after COVID, those became rare or expensive).
  • Have sanitation plans: plenty of hand sanitizers, maybe health screening if needed by law at entry, etc.
  • If it’s flu season and staff illness is likely, have backup staff or volunteers trained to fill critical roles.

• Insurance:

  • Insurance is part of risk management. Get general liability insurance to cover accidents (if someone gets hurt and sues, you’re covered up to a limit). If weather or other factors could cancel the event, consider cancellation insurance (though it’s pricey and has to be bought well in advance, and it might exclude known issues like an ongoing pandemic).
  • If you have high-value equipment or money on site, look into property insurance or crime insurance as needed (e.g., if you have a cash gate, what if that gets robbed?).
  • Discuss with an insurance broker about riders for specific risks (like if you’re doing fireworks, you need special coverage).
  • Make sure your vendors have insurance too (and name you as additionally insured) – that way if their employee causes an accident, their insurance helps pay.

Integrating Risk Management from the Start

It’s not enough to plan these in your head – document everything. Create a risk register: a spreadsheet or doc listing risks, likelihood, impact, and the mitigation or contingency steps. Assign an owner to each risk (someone responsible for making sure that contingency is in place if needed). Review this periodically as planning progresses because new risks might emerge and some might decline (like once you sell enough tickets, low sales might come off the list of critical risks, and focus shifts to crowd management).

Include risk checkpoints in meetings. For example, at 2 months out, do a formal review: “What’s our biggest worry? Are we ready for it?” This could be a dedicated risk meeting with your core team or just part of the agenda.

Emergency Team & Drills: As mentioned, assemble your safety team early – include your Ops, Security, Medical, etc. Have them coordinate with local responders. Possibly do a meeting with first responders at the venue a few weeks out to walk through plans (they appreciate that). You can map out who takes lead in different scenarios. E.g., in medical emergency, Medical lead takes charge, Ops assists; in fire, Security might take immediate lead with extinguishers and evacuation until fire dept arrives, etc.

Also plan communications: if something bad happens, how will info be relayed internally (radios, a specific code word?) and externally (who addresses attendees or media?). Having a spokesperson ready for media is wise, so one person gives statements if needed (usually the festival director or PR manager).

Flexibility and Mindset

Encourage a culture of problem-solving in your team. Let them know early: things will go wrong, and that’s okay if we’re ready. Empower everyone to act if needed. For instance, volunteers should know they can flag any hazard they see and not assume someone else will handle it. Or if plan A fails, staff shouldn’t freeze – they should switch to plan B confidently because they know it.

A story: At one festival I produced, a sudden storm flooded one parking area. Because we had discussed a weather plan, the parking team quickly redirected cars to an alternate lot we had scoped (plan B) and used shuttle vans to ferry attendees, all within minutes. Many attendees didn’t even realize that was a backup plan – they thought it was the original plan. That’s how smooth a well-prepared contingency can go.

Remember, early risk management also helps with stakeholder trust. When you assure local authorities or sponsors that you have contingency plans (“here’s our rain plan, our security plan, etc.”), they feel more comfortable supporting you.

One more thing: sometimes despite all planning, you might face a scenario not anticipated. That’s where having general resilience is key – a team that’s used to thinking on their feet will adapt. But likely, if you did your risk homework, it’ll just be a variation of something you did consider.

In summary, hope for sunny skies and a packed, happy crowd – but also quietly prepare for thunderstorms and half-empty ticket counts. If those dark clouds come (literally or figuratively), you’ll be the calm one with a plan, while others scramble. That preparedness could save your festival, or at least save your sanity. It’s like buying peace of mind: you invest time in risk planning so that even if a storm hits (again, literally or figuratively), you know you’ve got an umbrella and a evacuation route ready. That makes you a confident organizer and greatly increases the chances your event will be remembered for the awesome experience, not any crisis that occurred.