Festival Planning Checklist: 10 Things to Get Under Control

EVENT PLANNING GUIDE

Festival Planning Checklist: 10 Things to Get Under Control

Updated on September 29, 2026 | Written by Rachella Thomas

“I'm doing it. I’m planning a festival! What do I need to plan?”

You've got a date in mind. A site. Maybe you're already in conversation with performers, stallholders, or sponsors. And suddenly there are a lot of moving parts.

This is where you need to stop thinking about the festival as one big event and start breaking it into areas of work.

I've spent more than 26 years working across major events and festivals, and I’ve learnt a thing or two. These days I spend my time mentoring and coaching event organizers with their own event management. While every festival is different, these are ten areas I'd want to see taking shape as your festival planning develops from idea into project.

This isn't every task you'll need to complete. Consider it a sense check: I’m asking you, are all the major parts of your festival actually being planned?

Still working out whether you're ready to start one? Start with our guide on How to Start a Festival.

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1. Festival Brief & Objectives

Start with what you're actually creating.

What is the festival? Who is it for? What is it trying to achieve? How big is it? What does the audience experience look like? What parameters are you working within?

Get those decisions documented before the project gets too far ahead of them. When someone suggests adding another stage, activity or expensive idea three months from now, you need something more useful than “that sounds good” to decide whether it belongs.

2. Budget & Revenue

Start the budget early, while many of the numbers are still estimates.

Build out the real cost of delivering the festival: site, production, infrastructure, artists or programming, staffing, security, medical, waste, marketing, insurance, transport and whatever else your particular event requires.

Then look at the other side. Where is the money coming from? Tickets? Sponsorship? Grants? Stallholders? Partners?

Don't let optimistic revenue hide an event you can't afford to produce. Your budget should keep developing as quotes arrive and decisions are made.

3. Site & Infrastructure

A festival site needs to work operationally, not just look good on a poster.

Think about entrances and exits, audience movement, stages, food and beverage, toilets, power, water, waste, accessibility, fencing, back-of-house areas, loading, emergency access and all the temporary infrastructure required to make the site function.

Then walk it. A site plan can look perfectly sensible on a screen and feel completely different when you're standing there.

4. Program & Audience Experience

Now think about what people will actually experience.

Performers, speakers, workshops, activities, installations, food, markets, demonstrations — whatever makes sense for your festival. But don't plan each element in isolation.

Look at how the day works as a whole. Where will people naturally gather? When will they move? Are major activities competing with each other? Are there dead periods? Can the site comfortably handle the audience you're moving around it?

A festival program isn't simply a list of things happening. It's the event's rhythm.

5. Suppliers & Contractors

Festivals can accumulate suppliers remarkably quickly.

Production. Infrastructure. Toilets. Waste. Security. First aid. Catering. Equipment. Signage. Transport. Cleaning.

Keep one clear record of who is supplying what, what has been quoted and approved, what information you're waiting for and when they're expected on site. For years, I’ve used one master spreadsheet template to manage suppliers and contractors, along with the itemised site requirements linked to each supplier. This template can expand and contract to suit the scale of each festival. It’s available in the Festivals Kit if you want your own copy.

6. People & Responsibilities

As the festival grows, so does the need for clear ownership.

Work out who is responsible for production, site operations, artists or programming, suppliers, staff and volunteers, safety, ticketing, audience services, communications and the other areas relevant to your festival.

One person may hold several responsibilities on a smaller event. That's fine. What's dangerous is discovering on event day that everyone assumed somebody else was handling something.

7. Risk, Safety & Contingencies

Risk planning shouldn't appear at the end because somebody remembered a form needed completing. It should develop alongside the festival event management plan.

As the site, program, infrastructure, crowd and suppliers become clearer, so do the risks you need to manage.

Consider crowd movement, weather, temporary infrastructure, equipment, food and alcohol (where relevant), medical response, communications, emergency procedures, and the particular risks created by your event.

Requirements vary significantly by event and location, so identify the appropriate local requirements and specialist advice early.

8. Approvals, Insurance & Event Requirements

Find out early what permissions, licences, insurance, notifications, documentation or other requirements apply to your particular festival.

Don't assume anything. These vary enormously depending on location, site, attendance, activities and what you're putting on the ground.

Some also take time. Finding out six weeks before the festival that something has a twelve-week approval process is not a particularly enjoyable way to learn this lesson.

9. Marketing, Ticketing & Audience Communication

Your audience needs a clear journey from hearing about the festival to arriving at the gate. That includes marketing, event information, ticketing or registration, confirmation communications and the practical information people need before they arrive.

If you're selling tickets, don't treat the ticketing platform as something you bolt on at the end. Ticket sales become useful planning information as the festival develops. Use a reputable platform like Eventbrite to make sure the ticketing stage doesn’t let you down.

If you're approaching this stage, read our guide Before You Put Your Event Tickets on Sale.

10. Event Delivery

Eventually, all those separate areas have to come together. That's when your pre-event planning starts becoming event-day operational: bump-in or setup schedules, supplier arrivals, staff calls, site checks, event-day timings, communications, responsibilities, contingencies and pack-down.

Your run sheet and operational documents should tell people what needs to happen, when it needs to happen and who is responsible for making it happen.

It’s essential you go into the event delivery phase prepared for the plan to change. Read more in our guide, What Happens When the Run Sheet Goes Off Schedule.

Want More Festival Planning Advice?

No single checklist can teach you how to produce a festival. But a good one can stop you from forgetting to plan an entire area of the event.

I've worked with Eventbrite many times as an event organiser, and they also produce some excellent free planning resources. Their 10-Step Guide to Starting a Festival takes you further into areas including budgets, staffing, marketing and ticketing, and is well worth having open alongside your own festival plan.

Want more free Eventbrite insights?

Event Marketing Playbook (for new organizers learning to promote their events)

Guide to Selling Tickets Online (for anyone launching their first paid event)

Nonprofit Fundraising Toolkit (a guide for nonprofits and community groups)

→ If you found this useful, feel free to share it with a fellow event planner or your event network. They’ll appreciate you passing it on.

Festival Planning: You don't need to know everything before you begin. But you do need an event planning framework that shows you what to consider, especially when you don't yet have the experience to know what you might be missing. That’s what you get with the templates and tools in the Festivals & Community Events Kit.

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Meet Your Mentor

Rachella Thomas is an award-winning event producer with more than 26 years of experience delivering major events. Her work includes the Australian Open, Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, and other renowned large-scale events and festivals.

Rachella founded Event Kit, where she turns decades of professional event know-how into practical tools for event planners worldwide.

Learn More → ABOUT

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