Dossier inclusive festivals in the culture and music sector

Inclusion within the festival world is an increasingly important issue. How do you make sure everyone feels welcome at your festival? How do you incorporate inclusivity into your organisation, from vision to daily operations? In this dossier, we offer insights, tools and practical examples for organisations that want to build an inclusive festival. We cover themes such as safety, participation and accessibility, and highlight the importance of collaboration.

What is an inclusive festival?

An inclusive festival is an event where as many people as possible feel safe and welcome. This means consciously addressing barriers and exclusionary mechanisms, but also creating a welcoming environment where everyone feels respected and connected. Inclusion is not just an abstract concept, but an active choice that needs to be embedded in the organisational culture.

What mechanisms exclude and what keeps someone from coming to your offerings?

Many feel structurally socially excluded and events and organisations have also become difficult to reach. The article ‘Safe, safer and brave in leisure’ talks about how leisure organisations and events can create inclusive and safe places. It emphasises that safety is not only about physical protection, but also about social and mental safety. Many people experience barriers to participating in leisure offerings, for example due to discrimination, exclusion or lack of accessible facilities.

To ensure a safe environment, it is important to think structurally about policies and approaches. This includes recognising and addressing exclusion mechanisms, establishing clear rules of conduct, creating hotlines and actively involving diverse groups.

It also calls for courageous action: organisations must dare to intervene in cases of transgressive behaviour and create a culture of accountability. Only through conscious efforts can leisure venues be truly open to all and contribute to an inclusive society.

• Read the article here ‘Safe, safer and brave in leisure’ for leisure organisations and event organisers on how and why to create the safest possible place where as many people as possible feel welcome.   

Building blocks for an inclusive festival

Demos has been working with various cultural and leisure organisations around participation and inclusion in recent years. From these collaborations, ten building blocks emerged that contribute to a safe, accessible and diverse festival experience for both visitors and staff. This document provides guidance to promote inclusion within festival organisations and helps organisers take concrete steps towards a sustainable and welcoming festival environment. In doing so, every aspect of the festival is thought through and adapted to the needs of a wide audience.

Together, the ten essential building blocks contribute to a safe, accessible and diverse festival experience. It starts with a shared vision, where a shared value framework puts inclusion at the centre. Safety and well-being are prioritised by actively tackling discrimination and cross-border behaviour, supported by safe reporting points.

A learning attitude is crucial: regular reflection and evaluation helps to adjust and improve. Festivals can increase their social impact by working with local partners and encouraging positive change. Here, a strong partner network ensures equal partnerships with relevant organisations.

In addition, a diverse team contributes to a festival that brings together different perspectives and backgrounds.This also reflects on the multi-voiced stage, where diversity in programming is central and new talent is supported.

Inclusion also requires intersectional thinking: the awareness that different forms of discrimination and privilege intersect and reinforce each other.Accessibility plays a key role here, by removing physical, financial and communication barriers. Finally, participation is essential: actively involving the public in the organisation and design of the festival ensures a broadly inclusive experience.

•     Read the 10 building blocks with practical examples here.

Inspiring practices

Several festivals worldwide are already taking strong steps towards inclusion. In this blog series, you will find articles on festivals worldwide that celebrate diversity, put discrimination against groups high on the agenda and work towards low barriers.

•     The Karlsøy Festival, where everyone is an active participant and owner.
•     Queer Indigenous at the Riddu Riddu festival.
•     Inclusive music experience: new toolkit for auditory accessibility.
•     Inclusivity in the spotlight with Revelland at ESNS25.
•     The European Festival Association - take a stand Take A Stand is an initiative of Yourope, the European music festival association, which aims to promote inclusivity and social responsibility within the festival world.
•     Primavera Sound, one of the world's leading music festivals, has an inclusivity policy deeply woven into its DNA, focuses not only on musical diversity but also on social justice.
•     Keychange is a global project committed to full gender equality in the music industry.

Inclusion is not an option, but a necessity

It requires continuous effort to recognise and break through blind spots in the organisational culture. Often, inclusive measures are limited to symbolic actions without structural impact. Festivals need to keep questioning themselves critically: Are the efforts profound? And are they sufficiently embedded in the core of the organisation?
Culture versus music sector

There are clear differences between inclusion in the culture sector and the more commercial music industry. Whereas cultural houses often enjoy grants and policy support to develop inclusive measures, music festivals more often operate in a competitive market with commercial pressures. This brings additional challenges, such as financial accessibility and audience diversity. Yet initiatives such as Keychange (for gender equality in the music industry) and Take A Stand (for inclusive festival values) prove that change is possible, even in a commercial context.

Get started!

Want to make your own work towards a more inclusive festival? Use these tools:

•     Self-test - Analyse where your organisation stands on inclusion today.
•     Checklist for an inclusive festival - Concrete roadmap to make your festival more inclusive.
•     Inspiration list - Contacts and examples of organisations working on inclusion.
•     You can also contact Demos on request for a guided session, via ann.vandevyvere [at] demos.be.

An inclusive festival is not a final destination, but an ongoing journey. It requires commitment, dialogue and a willingness to adapt structures. By working together, sharing experiences and remaining critical, we build a festival world where everyone feels welcome. Let's take up that challenge together!