Organising a Festival Checklist
This Festival Event Planning Checklist is a field-ready tool for producers and operations teams to run a festival end-to-end — from objectives and site design to live operations, safety, and strike — without guesswork. It covers permits and insurance, noise and crowd management, medical and safeguarding, power/water/sanitation, staging/AV/lighting/video, ticketing and cashless, food & alcohol compliance, sustainability, accessibility, transport/traffic, volunteers, and vendor control.
Use it in TARGPatrol to assign owners, capture photo proof, and log real numbers in real time. Every line supports four answer types — [Flag], [Number], [Media], [Text] — so you can record quick pass/fail checks, precise counts (barriers, toilets, kVA, headcount), visual confirmations (site maps, wayfinding, rigging sign-offs), and notes (permits, policies, timings).
The template aligns with a practical milestone timeline (D-180/120/90/60/30/14/7/1) and an hour-by-hour run book, generating a live audit trail with timestamps and attachments. Failed checks can auto-create follow-up tasks for verified closure. After the event, export a clean PDF for stakeholders, review KPIs (attendance, NPS, safety, budget variance), and turn lessons learned into improvements for the next festival.
Event objectives & audience defined
Success KPIs set (attendance, NPS, revenue, safety)
Event dates locked, format (single/multi-day, camping)
Budget approved, ≥10% contingency
Total budget amount
Core team & roles assigned
Master timeline (D-180/120/90/60/30/14/7/1)
Site selected & contracted
Max capacity by zone (main/side/VIP/camp)
Site plan obtained (stages/FOH/BOH/roads)
Layout annotated (fire lanes, barriers, ADA, exits)
Municipal/land approvals documented
Environmental constraints noted
Permits matrix completed (assembly/noise/liquor/pyro/drones)
Applications submitted, numbers/expiry recorded
Event insurance & vendor COIs on file
Risk assessment (RAMS) approved
Crisis comms plan & spokesperson named
Noise management plan approved
Sound curfew time
Real-time dB monitoring arranged
Monitoring positions marked on map
Crowd management plan (ingress/egress/pinch points)
Crowd safety manager assigned
Barrier quantities (pit/perimeter)
Ingress/egress signage & lighting confirmed
Evac routes & muster points mapped
Security vendor booked, roster set
Total guards by zone
Prohibited items list published
Overnight security plan approved
Medical provider contracted
Ambulance coverage (hours)
First-aid posts count
AED locations marked
Heat/cold stress measures (shade/misting/blankets)
Lost-children/vulnerable-persons procedure
Weather service selected
Severe weather thresholds & triggers set
Weather kit stock (covers/mats/sandbags)
Fire safety plan approved
Extinguisher count & type by area
Pyro/special effects approvals on file
Gas cylinder storage verified
Power provider contracted
Total kVA required
Fuel plan & refuel windows
Grounding/bonding checks done
Cable ramps quantity
Power map uploaded
Water plan (potable/non-potable)
Hydration points count
Grey-water disposal contracted
Sanitation vendor contracted
Toilet units total
Accessible toilets count
Handwash/sanitizer stations count
Cleaning & pump-out cadence agreed
Waste & sustainability plan approved
Streams labeled (recycle/compost/landfill)
Bin count per zone
Back-of-house sorting area set
Single-use plastics policy published
Accessibility audit completed
Accessible viewing platforms installed
ADA routes surfaced and lit
Captioning/ASL arranged (main stage)
Quiet/wellness space established
Line-up & vendors locked
Headliners/support contracted
Stage plots & input lists collected
Changeover schedule finalized
Artist hospitality & transport planned
FOH/monitor spec approved
PA coverage model uploaded
RF coordination plan completed
Wireless/mic count
Lighting design approved
Followspot count
Show control tested
Video/LED/IMAG vendor contracted
Screen sizes/locations set
Camera count
Site comms plan (radios/channels/call signs)
Radio fleet issued & checked
Spare batteries count
Command post location & contact tree posted
Ticketing platform configured (tiers/caps)
Ticket sales goal
Fraud prevention & scanning tested
Box office setup photo
Wristbands/badges delivered (colors/RFID)
Cashless/payment terminals count
Food vendors licensed, health certs verified
Alcohol licence conditions noted
FOH bar layout approved
ID check & responsible service policy briefed
Community liaison active
Resident notices sent, hotline published
Road closures & traffic plan approved
Parking/shuttle plan finalized
Bike parking count
Rideshare drop/pick zones signed
Public transport boosts confirmed
Wayfinding artwork approved
Gate IDs & counting in place
Map boards installed
Night lighting levels verified
Volunteers recruited & trained
Volunteer headcount
Briefing time/location communicated
PPE issued (hi-viz/gloves/lights)
Back-of-house setup & crew welfare area
Crew catering & hydration plan
Shift rosters published
Accreditation live, access rules posted
Gate staff briefed (search/scanners/ADA)
Queue-management kit count
Emergency operations plan approved
Stop-show authority named
Public address/alert scripts prepared
Responder rendezvous points mapped
Pre-opening checks complete
Perimeter integrity photo
Stage/rigging sign-off on file
Electrical inspection passed
Water points flushed & tested
Toilets stocked & open
Vendors power/water/gas checked
Terminals online, test scans passed
Radios distributed, comms check OK
Medical & security on post
Waste bins deployed (count)
Wayfinding final photo sweep
Live ops: gates open on time
Entry rate per minute
Peak occupancy snapshot
Heat & noise readings (hourly)
Water/toilet service cadence met
Incidents logged (count)
Lost children cases (count)
Medical cases total
Push announcements sent (safety/schedule)
End-of-day reset completed
Overnight security briefed
Curfew compliance check
Strike plan confirmed with vendors
Load-out windows met
Rental return counts verified
Damage/incident photos captured
Waste removal complete, litter pick done
Recycling/compost tonnage
Ground remediation arranged (if needed)
Financials closed (settlements/refunds)
Attendance vs capacity variance
Revenue vs budget variance
Supplier performance notes
Volunteer hours total
KPI dashboard completed
Post-event survey sent
Responses received
NPS/CSAT score
Safety performance summary
ESG report drafted
Press/media links collected
Highlight reel / photo album uploaded
Team retrospective done
Improvements backlog created



















