It’s Festival Ticket Season!

It’s November, which only means one thing… festivals are already beginning to release next years festival tickets! I was inspired to write this article as I’m definitely a bit of a festival addict. Seeing as I certainly don’t earn enough to sustain my festival lifestyle (along with wanting to go on holiday every 5 seconds), I’ve always found ways to try to get to as many festivals as physically possible. Let’s just say my festival list was in the double figures last year and somehow I’m alive and still able to feed myself. Now it’s time for me to share my top tips to secure those cheap (ish) tickets! So, when do festival tickets go on sale?

When Do Festival Tickets Go on Sale?

This all varies depending on the festival, so it’s impossible to put a blanket date on it. In general, however, festival tickets for all genres are rarely sold before November. However, it can be as early as September. November is normally when the first few big ticket sales begin (this means you need to get a move on)! Currently, out of the bigger festivals, Ultra, EDC, Parookaville and Untold festival have already put their tickets on sale. You’ll find many more will release theirs just before Christmas, with the largest majority selling theirs in January in February.

> When Do Festival Tickets Go on Sale for EDM/Dance Festivals?

As I’m a big EDM festival lover, to help my fellow dance fans out there, I’ve listed some of the most popular festivals and when they will release their tickets for 2019. If you’re not interested in this, just skip to the next section to find my top tips.

> When Do Festival Tickets Go on Sale: Festival Tickets in Order of When the Sales Begin:

(Turn your phone if you’re reading on a mobile – sadly the table is dodgy)

How to Prepare and Save for Festival Ticket Sales

1. Plan, Plan, Plan

One thing I do to ensure that I can attend all of the festivals I want to is to plan. Once the festival season is over, I’m straight away planning for next season. I excessively plan, but it works. Firstly, I search for festivals I’d want to try out. I then have a list of all of all festivals I definitely want to try and attend, work out how much holiday I’d need (and realistically if I could take time off at that point), and how much it costs. This way I know what to expect and whether I can afford it – it also means I can keep a closer eye on what money I’m wasting in the supermarket and when I’m out (just think of those tickets)!

2. Budget: Save Well in Advance

Festival tickets are increasing in price year on year and with festivals offering bigger and better lineups and services, it drives the prices up on our end. If there are multiple tickets you want, you could be spending upwards of €1.000. Not many people have thousands to hand every month that they can hand over. This is why you need to save well in advance and budget, budget, budget! What I do is usually is move my money into a savings account and don’t touch it. I add a bit to it every month and then when ticket sales come around, I’m not totally bankrupt.

As you can see, I have a long way to go…

3. Book Accommodation and/or Travel Now If It Can Be Refundable

One thing I always do before ticket sales is buy my accommodation and/or travel if it can be cancelled for free and fully refunded. If you’re going to a festival and want to stay in a hotel, sites such as booking.com usually offer free refunds up until a week before your stay (sometimes even a day). This means you can book a hotel beforehand and then cancel if you don’t manage to secure your tickets. If you wait until after you’ve got your tickets you’ll find that the cheaper or better hotels and transportation have gone. It’s definitely the best way to save money and there’s no catch!

4. Secure the Early-Bird Tickets

Early bird tickets are the cheapest priced tickets you can buy via the festival itself. These are usually released months and months before the festival begins, usually when people aren’t expecting it. If you’re a person who thinks it’s not worth the hassle to save €10-20, then you’re wrong. Say if you’re only going to 2 festivals and it’s around €20 less to secure it months before, then you have already saved €40, which effectively could pay for your hotel. Unless you’re unsure you could make it, it’s always worth securing early-bird tickets.

The only time I wouldn’t recommend it is if you’re unsure if you can make it or if you think that the festival won’t be a sellout, which leads me onto my next point…

When do festival tickets go on sale? Here’s a definite way of securing those tickets on the cheap soon!

5. If It’s Not Expected to Be a Sellout, Wait Until the Last Minute

If you aren’t bothered about risking it or are totally sure that the tickets won’t sell out, then wait. Some festivals simply never sell out or sell out just days before the event itself. This is the time I’d encourage buying from reselling sites (such as TicketSwap and Viagogo). They are really cracking down on fake tickets, by making the person upload the ticket. They then check with the festival and then they change the barcode slightly for the buyer. This way the seller can’t just print out the ticket and get in first.

I’ve used them quite a few times now with no issues. If you understandably don’t want to risk it, then I would only buy if you live reasonably close to the festival and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Worst case scenario, you can’t get in, you’ll have to call the reselling site, get a refund and then buy a ticket on the door. It’s rare for this to happen. I’ve ended up having tickets for almost half the price. I’m happy, the seller is happy (as they probably fell ill or couldn’t go for whatever reason), it’s a no-brainer.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way an advocate for people who buy purely to sell on. However, with small festivals or festivals that don’t sell out, almost all are genuine sellers who can’t go and don’t want their ticket wasted. Other than this, I avoid them at all cost.

Any Other Tips on How to Prepare for Festival Ticket Sales?

Failing all of this, volunteer at a festival if they do these schemes. This way you can go to a festival entirely free! You just work a few shifts and then you have your own free time to enjoy the festival. If you follow all of these tips, you’ll be well on your way to a great summer.

Time to feel the hype! 😉

When do festival tickets go on sale? Sooner than you think for this girl.

What other tips do you have? Drop them in the comments! 

[Check out my previous article]

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