Tips for Safe Festival Attendance
You naturally want to attend a festival as safely as possible, and a safe festival starts with yourself. Only take what you really need, so you can't lose anything. Don't bring expensive watches and other accessories, you could lose them and you want to avoid that! With your own Festival Gift Card, you just want to have a pleasant night out!
Drugs at a Festival
During festivals, many types of drugs are encountered. You sometimes hear stories about being drugged at a festival. For this, GHB and rohypnol are often used. In the Netherlands, GHB is essentially recognised as a colourless liquid and sometimes it can be in a powder form. We know this as an anaesthetic and people who suffer from sleep problems can sometimes be prescribed it. Then you have the other type, also known by the name roofies, and these are often pills that can be recognised as a blue liquid. If this is put in your drink, you would think you would notice it. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, some people just drink. So, pay close attention to your drink, always look at your drink before taking a sip!
Watch Your Drink!
The advice at a festival is often to drink your drink in one go or share your drink with someone so you can finish it together in one go. If you have a bottle, you can simply put the cap back on and then have another sip later when you're thirsty. Another option you have is to use a Nightcap. This is a fabric cover that you can pull over your own drink. It has a special hole so you can poke a straw through it. This way you can also keep a better eye on your drink and that gives you a safer feeling too!
Safety Comes First!
If you don't feel safe, or you have people who are continuously following you, report it to the security personnel. They can then keep an eye on things and intervene when necessary. It's mainly about you being able to enjoy yourself during your festival, dancing and singing happily. But pay close attention, because unfortunately, there are also people around with other intentions!