Location Codes for Events and Festivals

Events happen in places that were not built to be found: a field, a car park, a stadium with twelve gates. The postal address of the venue is often only the address of the administrative office. Attendees, suppliers and staff all need a point, and they need it before they arrive, when they can still plan.

Different people, different points

An event has more entrances than one address can describe:

• Attendee entrance for ticket holders.
• Accessible entrance and drop-off for those who need it.
• Parking areas, which may be a distance from the gate.
• Artist and supplier access, which is usually on a different side.
• First-aid and information points, shown as codes alongside your site map.

Giving each a code makes your communications clear. The ticket says "Entrance: code", the supplier pack says "Goods access: code", and nobody has to decode a paragraph of directions.

Practical steps

1. Walk the site and drop a pin at each key point.
2. List the codes in a single page or PDF, with a plain label for each.
3. Print the relevant code on tickets, wristbands or supplier passes.
4. Brief volunteers on where to find the lookup page so they can help lost visitors.

Temporary sites

Festivals are often on land that has no permanent address. The cells exist regardless, so a field entrance can have a code even if the field has no name on any map. Reuse the same codes next year if the layout is unchanged, and create new ones if gates move.

Limits to remember

Attendees need mobile data to open a lookup, and crowded sites often have poor signal, so supply a printed map as well. A code does not show crowd density, queue lengths or temporary closures. It also is not part of any ticketing or access-control system.

Event organisers who also sell tickets online can add the map to their checkout via the plugins or the embeddable map. For related uses see ride-hailing and taxis for pickup points and weddings and private venues for smaller gatherings.

After the event

After the event, keep the codes and notes with your site plan. Next year's team will start with a tested list of entrances and can focus on improving it rather than rebuilding it from scratch.