YOUROPE, the European festival association, has launched the Weather Preparedness & Resilience Toolbox, helping organisers of outdoor events better prepare for extreme weather events.
The toolbox, which was developed as part of YOUROPE’s Future-Fit Festivals (3F) initiative, combines templates, checklists, tools and best-practice examples to help festivals prepare for, manage and respond to weather events such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall and high winds.
‘An increasingly significant challenge’
“Climate change is real, and it is not going away,” commented Holger Jan Schmidt, general secretary, YOUROPE. “That is a fact – and it is the reality festivals must deal with today.
“In our pan-European festival promoter surveys, we see weather emerging as an increasingly significant challenge year after year. Regular feedback from the safety community within our YOUROPE Event Safety Group (YES Group) also confirms that weather is the decisive factor in this field.”
Increasingly volatile weather is ‘no longer a background risk’, the group said; rather it is shaping festival planning, with disruption to events raising safety, insurance and regulatory pressures.
Among the key topics addressed by the toolbox are weather hazard awareness, risk assessment and planning, monitoring and early warning systems, decision-making and communication, on-site implementation, staff training, and attendee education. It also contains a series of case studies, and lessons learned from previous events.
‘More extreme conditions’
“Festivals and other outdoor events must prepare for more frequent and more extreme conditions,” Schmidt added. “For this reason, the relevance of what the YES Group has developed with the Weather Preparedness & Resilience Toolbox can hardly be overstated. It is an unprecedented resource, addressing all types of weather – from drought and heavy rainfall to storms – and supporting event organisers in preparing themselves and everyone involved in their events to operate safely and responsibly.”
Founded in 1998, YOUROPE counts 136 festivals and associated organisations across 31 European countries among its members. Through its working groups, it addresses different subjects related to festival organisation, including sustainability, climate action, environmental protection, safety, mental health and DEI. Read more here.
