Regardless of any intentions, I always pack too much for a festival. Apparently explainable by my gender, (female, since you ask) but still, when you consider that Endsleigh have calculated that the average student attendee of V festival this weekend will take over £300 worth of possession with them, it is a little ridiculous. When going on holiday I always take out travel insurance, but when going to spend four days, at least 3.5of them inebriated, in a muddy field, with the only thing separating my wordly goods from the rest of the world being a piece of canvas – nah, never bother.
Students are particularly at risk, being at the forefront of new shiny gadgets, but being too skint to fork out for optional extras that do not involve beer. A quarter of all students plan to head to a festival this year, and 18% are still umming and ahhing, praying for good weather.
So what are they taking with them? Obviously the most essential item for festival goers is their mobile phone, at 95%, although the survey doesn’t calculate how many will actually remember to charge said phone, and thus render it useful. Just behind this is the digital camera, a must for 54%. For some people, 18 hours of live music isn’t enough, with over 22% taking an MP3 player with them. So if you can’t pack light, be safe, and take out some cover. Not everyone is as friendly as they seem at festivals, and mud can be surprisingly damaging to a new shiny camera.
Sara Newell, Student Market Manager, Endsleigh Insurance, says that ‘It is great that so many are planning to spend some of their free time at a music festival in the UK this year, but at any festival, small, light and expensive gadgets will be a target for thieves. If students are taking items such as phones and laptops to a festival, it’s essential to get insurance cover before they go – and check that gadgets are covered outside of the home and for accidental damage as well as theft.’
Tell us your essential festival item, by this Sunday, the end of V Fest, when the last note has been played by The Killers, to be in with a chance to win a Sony Walkman Speaker Dock, worth over £70! Just tweet @iah_music or email us.
For more information and tips on which music festival to attend and how best to prepare, visit Endsleigh’s Guidefest website, which is designed by students for students: www.guidefest.co.uk
