Most music festivals offer free entry in return for various types of volunteering, selling tickets to friends, through paid work at the event, and by countless other means. Check out our exclusive guide to securing free %CODEfestname% tickets.
Join the ‘UK Music Festival Volunteers & Staff Community’ group on Facebook!
Download Festival takes place at the famed home of heavy metal, Donington Park, over the weekend of 8th – 10th June. This years headliners include Avenged Sevenfold, Guns n Roses, and Ozzy Ozbourne. Volbeat, Bullet for my Valentine, and Marilyn Manson are also set to appear.
Free Download Festival tickets are available in return for volunteering with Hotbox, Oxfam, and My Cause, and also for selling tickets to friends under their ambassador scheme. Full details of options are below.
How to: Get Free Download Festival Tickets Volunteering
Volunteering with Hotbox Events
Fans can secure free tickets to %CODEfestname% in return for volunteering with Hotbox Events. Volunteers will be required to complete three eight hour shifts over the weekend of the event, and in return will be given a full weekend wristband absolutely free!
Shifts are allocated in the order deposits are paid, so the sooner you apply, the better. Hotbox volunteers fulfil a unique role, providing general advice, information, and assistance to those that need it. The full list of events available with Hotbox includes:
- Download
- Latitude
- RiZE Festival
- Leeds Festival
- Reading Festival
In return for free %CODEfestname% tickets, volunteers are required to complete three 8 hour shifts across the weekend. Applicants are able to specify which shifts they would prefer, in order to ensure they get to see their favourite artists’ performances. A refundable deposit of £95-£145 is required, which is returned 30 days after the festival. Conveniently, a single deposit can be used for free entry to multiple festivals, potentially giving you access to four amazing weekends totally free of charge.
Hotbox claim that each year, over half of their volunteers join them alone the first time, then return each year to meet up with friends they’ve made volunteering. You can find their application form for this year on their official website.
Volunteering with Oxfam
Oxfam offer free entry to %CODEfestname% in return for working three eight hour shifts. A refundable deposit of £220 is payable, which will be returned provided all shifts are completed as promised. In addition to free %CODEfestname% tickets, Oxfam volunteers are provided with secure camping, hot tea & coffee, phone charging, and one meal token per shift.
The roles available with Oxfam include checking wristbands at the main entrance and the arena entrance, wristband exchanges, disability viewing platforms, and stewarding within the arena. Shop volunteers are also required, who will work a different shift pattern, usually every day of the event. Shop volunteers have first access to the awesome clothing sold in the festival Oxfam charity shop, which is known to stockpile the best Oxfam charity shop donations from across the country.
Check out Oxfam’s application system on their official website.
Volunteering with My Cause UK
My Cause UK offer free %CODEfestname% tickets for anyone willing to complete three eight hour shifts. A refundable deposit of up to £250 will be required. My Cause are notable as they will donate £40 to a charity of your own choice once you have completed your shifts.
My Cause also provide secure camping and one meal per shift completed. Their full list of festivals includes:
- Boardmasters
- Noisily
- All Points East
- Boomtown
- Bestival
- Download
- Love Saves The Day
My Cause promise to return your deposit one month after you have finished your shifts at the final festival you work each summer. As with Hotbox Events, a single deposit can be used for multiple festivals. Volunteers must be over the age of 18 on the first day of any event, and can apply on the My Cause UK website.
Work available with My Cause often includes wristband checking on entry gates.
Download Festival 2018 Lineup Poster
Download Festival Ticket Ambassador Scheme
Becoming a Download Ambassador allows you to sell tickets to your friends, in return for your very own free weekend camping ticket to Download Festival. You’ll have to sign up to the Download Ambassador Onverve page here, becoming a member of the “dog pack.”
You’ll be able to send your friends a link to purchase tickets via Ticketmaster, whilst earning points to your Download Ambassador account. If you fail to sell enough tickets to earn your own free ticket, you can swap your points for merchandise vouchers instead. You’ll need to sell around 8 or 9 tickets to earn a free, full 5 day camping ticket for yourself.
Other ways to get free %CODEfestname% tickets
As of yet, we are unaware of any other organisations offering free entry to %CODEfestname%. This page will be updated should further opportunities become available. All festivals require thousands of paid staff, most of which will be granted a free ticket to the event. Check with local temporary work agencies and you may find something you love.
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