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Whether you’re a boot-wearing, pop-up-tent, wet-wipe shower kind of festivalgoer or an Airbnb-in-Palm-Springs type, nothing beats the feeling of witnessing your favorite artist entertain a crowd on the main stage.
Summer's jam-packed with music festivals, a staple on many calendars, but just how safe are some of your favorite events? We've sifted through five years of official crime statistics from some of the biggest North American and UK festivals. Crunching those numbers, we've calculated the crime rate per 1,000 attendees, giving us a handy safety ranking for each event.
Starting off our North American list is none other than Lollapalooza in Grant Park, Chicago. 400,000 fans are ready to party this year to the tunes of Tyler the Creator, The Killers, and Blink-182. Based on five years of crime data, Lollapalooza boasts the lowest number of arrests (91) among the 10 events analyzed, with just 75 recorded crimes. That's a total of 166 incidents over five years, and a crime rate of only 0.01 per 1,000 attendees.
It’s time to head to Nevada, for North America’s largest electronic dance music festival, Electric Daisy Carnival. Coming in as the second safest music fest, with a super-low crime rate of 0.2 per 1,000 attendees, EDC is where the parties at. The festival hosts over 230 global dance icons and welcomes over half a MILLION festivalgoers dancing under the ‘electric sky’ at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From non-legal ceremonies at the Chapel of Nature, to their very own drag bar, to the second safest festival crown, EDC is the total package.
Dust off your cowboy boots and warm up those vocal cords as we’re heading to Tennessee's vibrant CMA Fest for some country tunes. Ranking it as the third safest music festival with a humble crime rate of 0.24 per 1,000 attendees. They've tallied 434 total incidents (a mix of recorded crimes and arrests) in 5 years. If Dolly Parton and a side of safety are on your 2024 bingo card, then CMA Fest is where you want to be.
Taking the fourth spot is Ultra Music Festival, boasting lower attendance numbers and a crime rate of 0.38 per 1,000 attendees. Not far behind, in fifth place is Texas' own Austin City Limits Music Festival, with a crime rate of 0.5 per 1,000 attendees.
It's that magical time of year when festival fever hits and folks embark on their long-awaited pilgrimage to the festival grounds. But let's face it, when you cram thousands of excited individuals into one space, crime and mischief is practically inevitable.
The most unsafe festival on our list to attend in North America this year is Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, at a crime rate of 4.6 per 1,000 attendees. The festival has the highest number of recorded crimes over a 5-year period, at a staggering 1,377. Enhanced security measures, car searches, and canine patrols doesn’t seem to be stopping ‘Bonnaroovians’. Due to their lower attendance figure and sky-high crime stats, it places them as the riskiest festival to attend.
Stagecoach Festival claims the title of North America's second most 'unsafe’ music festival. Despite its status as the world's highest-grossing country music fest, safety isn't its strong suit. From rowdy behavior to fake IDs, Stagecoach is a hotbed for mischief. Based in sunny California, Stagecoach holds the record for the highest number of arrests among our top ten festivals, totaling 595 over five years. With a smaller attendance of 80,000, that translates to a crime rate of 3 per 1,000 attendees.
In third place, step into the enchanting woodland wonderland of Electric Forest. Michigan’s festival boasts a crime rate of 2.3 per 1,000 attendees. With a diverse musical lineup spanning from hard techno to hip-hop, it's a treat for any festivalgoer. Despite its intimate gathering of 40,000 to 50,000 attendees, Electric Forest ranks high on the safety leaderboard with 419 recorded crimes and 116 arrests.
Kicking off our UK safest music festivals list is TRNSMT Fest in Glasgow, a lively 3-day, non-camping experience. With the lowest crime rate of 1.6 per 1,000 attendees, it's a top choice for a good time. Glasgow city center buzzes with over 150,000 revelers celebrating all things pop, rock, and electronica. Over the past five years, TRNSMT has recorded just 60 crimes and 172 arrests. So, if you're planning to party with Calvin Harris or Liam Gallagher this July, rest assured—safety is on your side.
Securing the second spot on our safety list is Latitude, with a crime rate of just 2.8 per 1,000 attendees. Known for its ‘family feel’, from headline performers to ballet performances and wild swimming, it’s no surprise it claimed its spot as one of the safest. With only 50 arrests and 63 recorded crimes over five years, it's a top pick for a worry-free festival experience.
In third place is London’s non-camping offering; All Points East Festival. Spanning across 3 main days and around 50,000 partygoers, this festival has a crime rate of 3.6 per 1,000 attendees. A diverse line-up, immersive experiences, and commitment to sustainability are a few things that attract attendees to Victoria Park every year. But how does their safety shape up? Well, All Points East boasts the second lowest number of arrests over the 5-year period, at 55, whilst recorded crimes were slightly higher, at 126.
In fourth place we have another Greater London festival, Wireless, with a crime rate of 4.7 per 1,000 attendees. In fifth place we have bucket list festival, Glastonbury, with a crime level of 5.5 per 1,000.
Creamfields Festival takes the crown as the UK's least safe festival, with a crime rate of 23 per 1,000 attendees. Despite impressive lineups featuring Fatboy Slim, Chase and Status, and Peggy Gou, Creamfields leads with crime. 623 arrests and 1009 recorded crimes have been made over a 5 -year period, totalling 1632 incidents, a staggering 1400 higher than the safest festival. Looks like Creamfields attendees could take a page from the TRNSMT-goers handbook.
In second place is Boomtown Fair, with a crime rate of 12.8 per 1,000 attendees. This Winchester-based music event promises jungle, techno, dnb beats and sadly, some unwanted crime. Five jam-packed days have resulted in 600 recorded crimes and 180 arrests over five years.
Taking the third spot is Reading Festival, with a crime rate of 8.4 per 1,000 attendees. This iconic event is set to welcome stars like Lana Del Rey and Two Door Cinema Club to its stages this year. However, with big stars come bigger crowds and, unfortunately, crimes. As a result, Reading Festival has recorded 654 crimes and made 216 arrests, totaling 870 incidents (105 crimes higher than its sister festival, Leeds!).
We gathered official police data on recorded crimes/citations and arrests for the biggest music festivals (based on attendance) for both North America and the UK. Large festivals without publicly available crime statistics were excluded from the list, and the next biggest festival was used.
We were able to create a safety ranking by calculating the crime per 1,000 attendees ( number of crimes / festival goers ) * 1000. We collected 5 years worth of data for each festival, however, 2020, and occasionally 2021 were excluded from data collection due to festival cancellation (COVID-19).
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