Where do I camp when working at a music festival?

We ask that you camp with the rest of the Hotbox Events staff and volunteers in the crew area.

The staff and volunteer camping area is next to the staff showers, toilets and café.

We ask you to not camp in the public areas as:

1. We have a duty to look after you and keep you safe, easier done if you are camped with us!
2. Staff and volunteers are required to check in at our office before each shift and make sure they are aware of updates throughout the festival, again easier if you are camped in the Hotbox compound.
3. In the past staff and volunteers have been involved with minor incidents due to camping in the public areas.

Think about it - if you had been told off by a member of staff or one of your friends had been evicted by security, then later in the day you find someone who works at the festival camping next to you, how might you treat them?

Do you provide camping equipment?

No, please bring your own tent and any other equipment you may require. 

Can I camp with my friends?

If you are working with Hotbox Events as either a member of paid event staff or festival volunteer then you must camp in the staff camping area provided.

If you and your friends are all working with Hotbox Events then you're welcome to camp together! Please make sure you arrive EARLY enough to claim space for you all!

If your friends are working with another organisation then you may not all be able to camp together as staff compounds (including ours) are quite tight on security and access and to enter you must have a wristband specific to the staff compound.

Can I bring and camp with my children?

Most festivals and events allow children of 12 years and under in free, those 13 and over will require a ticket.

Anyone NOT WORKING at the festival will be required to camp in the PUBLIC CAMPSITES and use the public facilities.

If you are a parent/guardian who is WORKING you will be required to camp in the STAFF AREA.

If your children are not working, they will not have a crew pass, so will not be able to access the staff areas.

The only exception is at Camp Bestival Dorset and Camp Bestival Shropshire, where there is a separate policy for volunteering and bringing along your children to the festival.

Whilst on the festival site your child/children will be your responsibility; care will need to be organised when you are collecting passes, attending briefings and working shifts.

Please contact us if you have dependants attending the festival and are unsure about any of the above.

What kind of clothes should I bring?

Music festivals can be VERY HOT or VERY COLD and VERY DRY or VERY WET - all in the space of one weekend! So please pack clothing to cover all extremes, for example...

• A waterproof jacket.
• A jumper or fleece.
• 2 pairs of lightweight trousers that dry quickly.
• A pair of shorts.
• A hat.
• Lots of warm socks.
• Boots and trainers (you cannot work onsite whilst wearing sandals or flip flops).

For more suggestions please see the next question in this section "Anything else I should bring?"

Anything else I should bring?

If you've never been to a festival before, or if like us you just can’t remember all the things you forgot to pack last year, in collaboration with Reading and Leeds Festival we’ve put together the 'music festival essentials' list! Hopefully it'll help and make your festival a cleaner and greener experience!

• Your Info pack - you can download/print this via your PAAM account closer to the event.
• If you're travelling via public transport - bring your tickets! Or, why not give lift-sharing a go? 
• Bank cards – most festivals are now cashless so you will not need to bring cash to the festival unless using it for public transport/shuttle buses to and from the festival site. Remember to keep your bank cards with you at all times, don't leave them in your tent.
• Original copies of your proof of your Right to Work in the UK. You can read how to prove your Right to Work in the UK here. Please note, a UK Driving Licence is NOT proof of your right to work in the UK. Again, remember to keep these with you at all times, or we can store passports in the safe in the Hotbox Office, but please be aware that we cannot accept responsibility for them.
• Clothing for all seasons – even in a heat wave it gets cold at night.
• Tent, sleeping bag, blanket, and a pillow – if you don't fancy carrying these home at the end of the weekend, take them to the left luggage/lost property/donation point before you go.
• Camera – or just use your mobile phone so you don't have so much to carry.
• Mobile phone & charger – switch off your phone when you're not using it and when you're asleep. Your battery will last longer and you'll be doing the environment a favour too.
• Condoms – you never know, you might just get lucky!
• Paracetamol, or just drink some water before you go to bed.
• Sun cream and a hat – you'll be in direct sunlight (hopefully!) all day.
• Can opener and bottle opener.
• Tissues and loo roll – try to buy the recycled type.
• Torch – everything looks different at night and that floral tent you bought thinking you'd be the only one with it...seems everyone else had the same idea!
• Toiletries and a towel.
• Hair brush, hair bands and a mirror.
• Lip balm.
• Nail clippers/nail file.
• Toothbrush and toothpaste and some chewing gum/mints.
• Bikini or trunks for the showers.
• Wet wipes for when you just can't be bothered with a shower!
• Clean underwear and lots of dry, clean socks.
• Sunglasses.
• Flip-flops (although you can't work in them so bring some boots and/or trainers too).
• Pacamac – not very sexy but you'll look better wearing that than a bin bag if it rains.
• Bin bags – put your clothes in one as you pack so they stay dry during the weekend. Try to buy recycled and re-use the plastic bags you bring your shopping in. If you do need more you can get bin bags and recycling bags from one of the many litter and recycling points around the music festival site or just pop in to see the litter team in the crew area and ask nicely! Please bag up all your rubbish and recycling and designate a litter and recycling point in your crew campsite. Try to keep glass and cans separate.
• Lager/cider – please bring cans as these can be recycled at the recycling points. Glass bottles are NOT allowed onsite.
• Wellies – you'd be surprised how many pairs of wellies get left behind. If you don't want them please take them to a left luggage/lost property point.
• Small solid fuel camping stove and pans to cook in.
• A mug for tea, bowl, plate, spoon, knife & fork – bring reusable picnic sets if you can, rather than using stacks of the plastic disposable type.
• Washing up liquid (for the above) - try to buy the environmentally friendly type.
• Water container – buy a large, empty water container from a camping shop that you can fill from the water points or buy one large bottle of water and re-fill this. Please don't burn your plastic bottles as they release toxic chemicals when burnt.
• Pot noodles/packet meals.
• Teabags & coffee.
• Sugar packets (from the services on the way!).
• A sense of humour and an open mind!

Where can I charge my phone?

We have a marquee within our secure compound which is only for Hotbox Events staff and volunteers; the marquee has an area for charging mobiles but please remember to bring your charger!

Do you provide staff and volunteer showers and toilets?

Yes! Although (officially) no baths...sorry!

What facilities are in the Hotbox compound?

All Hotbox staff and volunteers have access to our secure compound including:

• The Hotbox marquee with lights, tables, chairs and plug sockets for mobile phone charging!
• Tea and coffee making facilities in the marquee (please bring a mug!).
• Hot water in the marquee for making noodles and soup.
• A water tap for refilling water bottles.

Either inside or near to the Hotbox compound you’ll also find the staff and volunteer showers, toilets and café.

Can I bring my Caravan, Campervan or Motorhome?

Yes, you can bring your campervan or motorhome to the festival, of course as long as it is a regular sized vehicle and not one of the very huge ones! The festivals also require all campervans to be properly converted and recognised as a campervan by insurance - it can't just be a van with a mattress inside!

After you have applied to join us, paid your deposit and had your position confirmed, please complete our caravan, campervan and motorhome registration form here. Please note, caravan, campervan and motorhome spaces at Download Festival and Latitude Festival 2026 are now full.

Please plan to then arrive as early as possible to make sure there is clear access for us to site your vehicle in our compound.

Please note, at some events you may be required to park in a dedicated area specifically for campervans and motorhomes which is separate to the main Hotbox Events staff and volunteer compound, although not usually very far away. 

We cannot allow cars or standard vans to be used as live-in vehicles for safety reasons, and you cannot sleep in any vehicle parked in the staff or public car parks, this for the safety of you and others.

Why can't Hotbox offer volunteers free meals?

In short, it comes down to scale and resources.

We're a relatively small company and team, with just one full time member of staff, and we simply don't have the budget of larger organisations or multi-national charities.

Plus, unlike some other volunteer recruitment and management companies, we don't charge (or deduct from deposits) so called "admin fees," which of course help other companies with their funding.

To give you a clearer picture, if we provided one meal per shift for around 4,000 volunteers each year (working 3 shifts per festival), at an average cost of £6.50 per meal, that would add up to £78,000.00 (ex VAT) annually.

Unfortunately, and probably unsurprisingly, we are not in a position to be able to absorb this as an internal cost.