Example roles
As a steward you could be doing the same role on all three of your shifts, or different roles for each of your shifts.
You find out your roles when you are given your shifts at registration onsite at the festival. Below are a few of the many roles you could be doing as an Oxfam festival steward.
Gates
A gate is any point at a festival where festival goers pass through to move from one area to the next.
It could be an entrance gate, where your primary responsibility might be to welcome festival goers and check their tickets. It could be an arena gate, where you are checking wristbands, or it could be a campsite gate, where you could be checking that only people with the appropriate accreditation can pass through. You could be handing out programmes, giving directions. These roles are very varied.
Fire towers
Fire towers stewards watch for fires, tent thefts, and other issues around the festival, and report them back to the Oxfam office at the festival.
Don't like heights? That's fine, you will only be allocated this role if you say you are happy working at heights on the application form.
Accessible viewing platforms
At viewing platforms, stewards ensure that only people with the correct passes and accreditation are allowed onto the platform, and ensure the platforms stay safe and to the correct capacity. At a number of our festivals we work alongside an organisation called Attitude is Everything, who work to improve deaf and disabled people's access to live music.
Venues and stages
At a venue you may be monitoring the crowd levels around the area, ensuring festival goers do not climb on stage equipment, ensuring any smoking bans are enforced, or that the capacity inside any enclosed area is not exceeded.
Chaperoning vehicles
Occasionally we will chaperone a vehicle as it moves through one particular part of the festival to another. These will normally be essential site vehicles, or at certain festivals, festival processions.
Response Team stewards
As a response team steward you are on standby at the start of your shift to fill any gaps we may have around the site. You may also be responding to help with unplanned situations that may arise around site. You may spend your whole shift as a response team steward in one place, or you may visit several places – wherever stewards are needed at that time.