Festival abroad? Have fun and stay safe

Preparing for a festival abroad

To fully relax and enjoy the moment, both festivals and holidays take some forward planning. Combine them in a festival abroad, and the list of things to sort and consider grows. To make things easier, these are the essential things to sort before you travel that help protect your safety and wellbeing before the fun starts.

Before you travel checklist

• Book travel insurance - that covers yourself, as well as all planned activities and all your festival possessions and gadgets.

• Check the COVID-19 travel advice for your destination - including entry requirements and local laws and customs.

• For UK to Europe travel, get a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) - this grants you access to emergency healthcare in the EU for free or at a reduced cost.

• Check you have all necessary vaccinations - festivals are crowded places, and diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella, protected by the MMR jab, can spread quickly. Check your destination for any specific vaccinations they require or advise you to have.

• Look out for disease outbreaks - in the country or region you're visiting.

• Back up your documents online - festival camping and drinking can mean any paper documents like tickets and passports can be all too easily lost or stolen. Make sure you keep digital copies.

How to survive a festival abroad

Packing for a festival that involves a flight is very different than going by car, where you can fill your vehicle to the brim with camping equipment, food, drink, and any luxuries you desire to bring. This festival abroad packing list is designed to keep you as safe and well as possible while saving you valuable space.

Your festival abroad and risk of...

COVID-19

The days of lockdowns may be over, but COVID-19 is still circulating worldwide, and different countries have different approaches to keeping it under control.

Before your trip, check what the COVID-19 entry requirements and local rules are, including whether you need proof of a negative test, proof of vaccination and boosters, and face coverings in that region. Certain festivals may have their own rules to help lower the risk of COVID-19 spreading through crowds, so check before you attend.

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General health and lifestyle

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Heat exhaustion and heatstroke

The risks of excess sun exposure to the skin are well known. Too much sun increases the risk of skin cancer, and burning carries a particularly high risk for malignant melanoma. But in the short term, excess heat also carries a risk of heat exhaustion which, if untreated, can lead to life-threatening heatstroke.

by Dr Sarah Jarvis MBE, FRCGP

Once there, practise good hygiene as much as you can and wash your hands regularly. It's common for festivals loos to run out of hand wash, so keep hand sanitiser on you in a pocket or money belt. If you experience possible symptoms while you're there, locate the nearest medical tent and follow the medical expert's advice. They may have instant COVID-19 tests on hand.

Measles

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause unpleasant rashes, high temperatures, and cold-like symptoms - and sometimes it leads to serious complications. Although the MMR vaccine keeps measles very low risk in UK mass gatherings, the chances of it spreading are higher in several other countries.

You can look for outbreaks of measles and how high risk your destination is here. If you're unsure if you've had two doses of the MMR vaccine, check with your GP before you travel.

Mpox

In July 2022, a global mpox (formally known as monkeypox) outbreak was declared. This virus - which can cause aches and pains, a high temperature, chills, a rash, and serious complications - remains present in many countries, and is spread mainly by infected rodents. While mpox doesn't spread very easily between people, it's possible to get it through close contact with an infected person.

If before you travel you experience mpox symptoms and suspect you have it, the World Health Organization (WHO) advises avoiding international travel. If you're in a group that's more vulnerable to mpox and have had your first vaccination dose, you must get your second by the end of July 2023.

At a festival abroad, you can reduce your chances of exposure by practicing safer sex, and avoiding close contact with someone who is unwell or might have the mpox rash - including not touching their clothes, towels, or bedding.

Malaria

Malaria is a serious and potentially life-threatening infection that's spread by bites from female mosquitoes. Symptoms, which can be flu-like, can quickly become severe and you must seek urgent medical attention if you become unwell during or after a visit to a high-risk country - some types of malaria can develop months after you return home.

First, find out if your festival is somewhere high risk as soon as possible. If yes, there's no vaccination against malaria, but there are medicines you can take in the form of tablets. Ideally 6-8 weeks before the event, book a travel health risk assessment with your GP, who can speak to you about the benefits and side-effects of these antimalarial tablets and prescribe them.

It’s always a good plan to protect yourself from bites at a summer festival. Mosquitoes that carry this disease typically bite after sunset, so if you're staying in a tent choose one with a second protective cover that keeps insects out, or if you've booked accommodation, make sure there's a mosquito net over the bed.

Dengue fever

Dengue is another viral infection that's spread through mosquito bites. It causes a flu-like illness, with symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, joint pains, and headache.

There's no vaccine against dengue if your travelling somewhere high-risk. Instead, you need to minimise your chances of getting bitten as much as possible, particularly between dawn and dusk when mosquitos that carry dengue tend to bite:

• Cover your skin with long, loose fitting clothing.

• Apply insect repellent to any exposed skin, and reapply as often as the label instructions.