Organise a local festival, from first brief to pack-down
A festival, even a local one, is the most demanding format: line-up, permits, safety, technical production, volunteers and weather all intertwine over several days. The critical path almost always runs through the permits and the headline act. Allow 6 to 12 months.
Describe your event and TadaPlan builds the full timeline — tasks, dependencies, critical path, budget — in 30 seconds.
The timeline, phase by phase
6 to 12 months out
- Set the concept, the dates, the site and the target capacity
- Build the forecast budget and break-even point (fees vs entries)
- Book the headline act — it dictates everything else
- Start the permit requests: municipality, safety, royalties, environment
3 to 6 months out
- Complete the line-up and sign the artist contracts
- Sign sponsors and grants (file the applications early)
- Book stage, sound, lighting, marquees, toilets, generators
- Launch ticketing or pre-sales and the communication
The final month
- Finalise the site plan: stages, bars, first aid, exits, possible camping
- Recruit and schedule volunteers by team and by slot
- Agree the safety and first-aid setup with the authorities
- Lock the artist logistics: welcome, dressing rooms, riders, soundcheck times
Build, show, pack-down
- Build over 2 to 5 days with a safety check before opening
- An ops HQ during the show: a single decision channel
- Real-time entry counting and bar tracking
- Pack-down, condition report, financial review and a hot debrief
The mistakes that cost you
- Committing to fees before you know the break-even point: that is a guaranteed loss.
- Discovering the safety requirements at the last minute: the setup is negotiated months ahead.
- Neglecting build and pack-down in the volunteer schedule — that is always where hands are missing.
- No weather plan: a rain plan B (marquees, drainage, fallback) is decided at the design stage.
On the budget
A one or two-day local festival lands between €15,000 and €100,000; fees and production make up 60% of the budget, and the bar 30 to 50% of the revenue. Hence the importance of a forecast before any commitment.
TadaPlan tailors the plan to your date, headcount and budget, then alerts you the moment a critical task slips.
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