Nature doesn't read your running order

It doesn’t matter how big your festival is, how much money you’ve
spent, or who’s headlining. When the rain comes, when the wind
picks up, or when the heat becomes unbearable, there’s only one
question that matters: are you prepared?


More and more festivals are being forced to rethink, postpone, or
cancel altogether. Because the ground can’t take it. Because
safety can’t be guaranteed. Or because no one is willing to take
the risk anymore. This panel brings real-world experience to the
table. Vivian Belzaguy Hunter, who leads sustainability efforts
at Ultra Music Festival and Ascendance Sustainable Events, shares
what it means to plan for climate extremes at large-scale events.
Oliver Guy Watkins from PMY Group contributes insights from the
production and technology side, while Maarten van Denderen of No
Risk adds the insurance and risk management perspective — a
critical component as weather unpredictability grows.


Moderated by Linnéa Vågen Svensson of Greener Events, the panel
explores why a solid safety plan isn’t something you add at the
end, but something you build everything else around. Why
sustainability and resilience are deeply interconnected. And why
asking hard questions early on matters more than ever.


We’ll talk site layout, crisis communication, insurance, and
crowd movement. But most of all, we’ll ask: how do we keep making
festivals happen in a world where the climate has stopped playing
by the rules?