Client and event overview
Well, that was a summer. Thousands of hours worked. Hundreds of event professionals deployed. Gates opened, tickets scanned, wristbands checked, radios charged, campsites managed and more festival questions answered than we could ever hope to count. From our first festival staffing shifts of the season to the final teams coming home at the end of August, summer 2026 has been one to remember at Ethical Staffing. Our teams travelled across the country, returned to some of our favourite fields and took on completely new challenges. We strengthened relationships with longstanding clients while welcoming some brilliant new ones – expanding both where we work and the range of event staffing services our teams deliver. And we couldn't be prouder of the people who made it happen.
New Clients, New Fields, New Challenges
One of the biggest stories of our 2026 season was growth.
This summer saw Ethical Staffing trusted by several new clients to step into established events and take responsibility for key areas of their operations.
And what a collection of first years it was.
10 Days of Campsite Management at Silverstone
One of the biggest additions to our calendar was the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
For 10 days on site, Ethical Staffing provided campsite management across the official campsites at Silverstone, supporting the temporary communities that spring up around one of the biggest events in British sport.
Camping at the British Grand Prix is an experience in itself, with official sites ranging from traditional camping and campervan pitches to glamping.
For Ethical Staffing, it was a major new operation requiring experienced event managers, supervisors and event professionals who could adapt to the changing demands of the campsites across an extended deployment.
Taking on a new client at this scale was a huge moment for us. Seeing our team deliver it was one of the proudest moments of our summer.
Cashless Support in the Woods at Lost Village
Another new addition took us deep into the woods at Lost Village.
Set amongst secluded woodland in Lincolnshire, Lost Village combines music, food and immersive experiences to create a festival world entirely of its own.
For our first year at the festival, Ethical Staffing provided cashless wristband support, helping attendees navigate the technology behind transactions across the event.
It's a role that sits right at the intersection of technology and customer service. When something doesn't quite work, attendees need a real person who understands the system, can troubleshoot the problem and help get them back to their weekend.
Adding Lost Village to our growing portfolio of RFID and cashless event support was another exciting step forward in 2026.
Ticket Scanning at Jeremy Clarkson's Farm Fest
Then came a rather different kind of farm festival.
In another first for 2026, our ticket scanning staff supported the arrival operation at Jeremy Clarkson's Farm Fest, welcoming attendees and helping keep entry moving throughout the event.
For our ticket scanning teams, that means combining confidence with event technology with the people skills needed to provide a positive first point of contact.
Whatever the setting, the fundamentals of a strong gate operation remain the same. Our teams need to understand the technology they're using, communicate clearly with attendees and be ready to resolve problems when they arise.
It was another new event, another new client relationship and another brilliant addition to a summer that took our teams into an incredible variety of environments.
Returning Favourites – and Growing Relationships
Growth isn't only about adding new names to the calendar.
Some of the relationships we're most proud of are the ones that bring us back to the same fields year after year – particularly when those clients begin trusting us with more of their operation.
Shambala Festival is a perfect example.
Ethical Staffing teams have supported Shambala in different capacities for several years, but 2026 marked our first year taking on the festival's box office operation.
Our experienced box office staff supported attendees with ticketing and entry queries, bringing another area of expertise into an event our teams already know and love.
Shambala has long been recognised for approaching festivals differently, and in 2026 became the UK's first employee-owned festival. For a business that cares deeply about responsible employment and the people behind events, continuing to grow our relationship with Shambala is something we're particularly proud of.
For us, that's an exciting kind of growth. It's not simply about working at more events; it's about building trust with existing clients and being given the opportunity to take on new responsibilities as those relationships develop.
And Shambala wasn't our only reunion.
We returned to Boomtown for another huge year at the Matterley Estate, delivering box office management across the festival gates alongside ticketing provider Kaboodle, as well as cashless wristband support alongside event technology specialists Weezevent.
Boomtown is a utopia of creativity and self-expression, transforming the Matterley Estate into an immersive city of stages, districts, hidden venues and experiences. Returning each year means bringing back experienced staff who understand the systems, the site and the wonderfully varied audience that makes the festival what it is.
Closer to home, 2026 marked our **third consecutive year running the gates at Bristol Pride**.
Pride Day on The Downs welcomed around 40,000 people in 2026, making it one of the largest Pride events in the UK and one of the biggest events in Bristol's calendar.
Across our 12-hour operation, Ethical Staffing Gate Managers, supervisors and ticket scanning staff supported attendees from first entry through peak arrivals and all the way to egress.
We also returned to Love Saves The Day at Ashton Court, supporting the egress operation at one of the first major weekends in Bristol's summer festival calendar.
And those are only a handful of the events our teams supported across the season.
There's something special about arriving on site and recognising the faces around you.
For us, returning clients aren't simply repeat bookings. They're relationships built over multiple seasons – and the trust involved in being invited back is something we're incredibly proud of.
The Outcome
The People Behind Our Summer Festivals are extraordinary things. For a few days, fields become cities. Campsites become communities. Stages appear, thousands of people arrive and an enormous temporary workforce comes together to make the whole thing possible. Then, almost as quickly, it's gone. Behind every one of those weekends are people. Our event staff worked early mornings and late nights. They dealt with arrival surges, changing weather, busy queues and the inevitable unexpected moments that come with live events. Our Gate Managers kept entry operations moving. Our ticket scanning staff welcomed thousands of attendees. Our box office teams solved problems at the window. Our campsite teams helped look after temporary communities, while our RFID operatives provided the human support behind festival technology. And many of those people moved between completely different clients, sites and roles throughout the summer. That's something we never take for granted. That's a Wrap on Summer 2026 There are plenty of numbers we could use to sum up this summer. Shifts filled. Hours worked. Miles travelled. Tickets scanned. Wristbands supported. Radios signed out. Cups of coffee consumed before an early gate call. But none of those numbers quite capture it. Summer 2026 was about growth and trust. It was being asked to take on a major new campsite operation at Silverstone. It was heading into the woods for our first year supporting Lost Village. It was welcoming Farm Fest into our summer calendar. It was returning to Shambala and being trusted with something new. And it was heading back to the gates and fields of clients like Boomtown, Bristol Pride and Love Saves The Day who continue to put their trust in Ethical Staffing year after year. To our new clients: thank you for putting your trust in us. To our returning clients: thank you for continuing to put your trust in our people – and for giving us opportunities to grow alongside you. And to every member of the Ethical Staffing team who showed up, got stuck in and helped make this summer happen: this one belongs to you. What a summer. See you in the fields in 2027.
Services Used
Related Ethical Staffing services: Wristbanding Staff, Ticket Scanning Staff, Gate Managers.
Wristbanding Staff
People on the ground when cashless and wristband systems need a human.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this article cover?
Well, that was a summer. Thousands of hours worked. Hundreds of event professionals deployed. Gates opened, tickets scanned, wristbands checked, radios charged, campsites managed and more festival questions answered than we could ever hope to count. From our first festival staffing shifts of the season to the final teams coming home at the end of August, summer 2026 has been one to remember at Ethical Staffing. Our teams travelled across the country, returned to some of our favourite fields and took on completely new challenges. We strengthened relationships with longstanding clients while welcoming some brilliant new ones – expanding both where we work and the range of event staffing…
New Clients, New Fields, New Challenges
One of the biggest stories of our 2026 season was growth.
This summer saw Ethical Staffing trusted by several new clients to step into established events and take responsibility for key areas of their operations.
And what a collection of first years it was.
10 Days of Campsite Management at Silverstone
One of the biggest additions to our calendar was the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
For 10 days on site, Ethical Staffing provided campsite management across the official campsites at Silverstone, supporting the temporary communities that spring up around one of the biggest events in British sport.
Camping at the British Grand Prix is an experience in itself, with official sites ranging from traditional camping and campervan pitches to glamping.
For Ethical Staffing, it was a major new operation requiring experienced event managers, supervisors and event professionals who could adapt to the changing demands of the campsites across an extended deployment.
Taking on a new client at this scale was a huge moment for us. Seeing our team deliver it was one of the proudest moments of our summer.
Cashless Support in the Woods at Lost Village
Another new addition took us deep into the woods at Lost Village.
Set amongst secluded woodland in Lincolnshire, Lost Village combines music, food and immersive experiences to create a festival world entirely of its own.
For our first year at the festival, Ethical Staffing provided cashless wristband support, helping attendees navigate the technology behind transactions across the event.
It's a role that sits right at the intersection of technology and customer service. When something doesn't quite work, attendees need a real person who understands the system, can troubleshoot the problem and help get them back to their weekend.
Adding Lost Village to our growing portfolio of RFID and cashless event support was another exciting step forward in 2026.
Ticket Scanning at Jeremy Clarkson's Farm Fest
Then came a rather different kind of farm festival.
In another first for 2026, our ticket scanning staff supported the arrival operation at Jeremy Clarkson's Farm Fest, welcoming attendees and helping keep entry moving throughout the event.
For our ticket scanning teams, that means combining confidence with event technology with the people skills needed to provide a positive first point of contact.
Whatever the setting, the fundamentals of a strong gate operation remain the same. Our teams need to understand the technology they're using, communicate clearly with attendees and be ready to resolve problems when they arise.
It was another new event, another new client relationship and another brilliant addition to a summer that took our teams into an incredible variety of environments.
Returning Favourites – and Growing Relationships
Growth isn't only about adding new names to the calendar.
Some of the relationships we're most proud of are the ones that bring us back to the same fields year after year – particularly when those clients begin trusting us with more of their operation.
Shambala Festival is a perfect example.
Ethical Staffing teams have supported Shambala in different capacities for several years, but 2026 marked our first year taking on the festival's box office operation.
Our experienced box office staff supported attendees with ticketing and entry queries, bringing another area of expertise into an event our teams already know and love.
Shambala has long been recognised for approaching festivals differently, and in 2026 became the UK's first employee-owned festival. For a business that cares deeply about responsible employment and the people behind events, continuing to grow our relationship with Shambala is something we're particularly proud of.
For us, that's an exciting kind of growth. It's not simply about working at more events; it's about building trust with existing clients and being given the opportunity to take on new responsibilities as those relationships develop.
And Shambala wasn't our only reunion.
We returned to Boomtown for another huge year at the Matterley Estate, delivering box office management across the festival gates alongside ticketing provider Kaboodle, as well as cashless wristband support alongside event technology specialists Weezevent.
Boomtown is a utopia of creativity and self-expression, transforming the Matterley Estate into an immersive city of stages, districts, hidden venues and experiences. Returning each year means bringing back experienced staff who understand the systems, the site and the wonderfully varied audience that makes the festival what it is.
Closer to home, 2026 marked our **third consecutive year running the gates at Bristol Pride**.
Pride Day on The Downs welcomed around 40,000 people in 2026, making it one of the largest Pride events in the UK and one of the biggest events in Bristol's calendar.
Across our 12-hour operation, Ethical Staffing Gate Managers, supervisors and ticket scanning staff supported attendees from first entry through peak arrivals and all the way to egress.
We also returned to Love Saves The Day at Ashton Court, supporting the egress operation at one of the first major weekends in Bristol's summer festival calendar.
And those are only a handful of the events our teams supported across the season.
There's something special about arriving on site and recognising the faces around you.
For us, returning clients aren't simply repeat bookings. They're relationships built over multiple seasons – and the trust involved in being invited back is something we're incredibly proud of.
The People Behind Our Summer
Festivals are extraordinary things.
For a few days, fields become cities. Campsites become communities. Stages appear, thousands of people arrive and an enormous temporary workforce comes together to make the whole thing possible.
Then, almost as quickly, it's gone.
Behind every one of those weekends are people.
Our event staff worked early mornings and late nights. They dealt with arrival surges, changing weather, busy queues and the inevitable unexpected moments that come with live events.
Our Gate Managers kept entry operations moving. Our ticket scanning staff welcomed thousands of attendees. Our box office teams solved problems at the window. Our campsite teams helped look after temporary communities, while our RFID operatives provided the human support behind festival technology.
And many of those people moved between completely different clients, sites and roles throughout the summer.
That's something we never take for granted.
That's a Wrap on Summer 2026
There are plenty of numbers we could use to sum up this summer.
Shifts filled. Hours worked. Miles travelled. Tickets scanned. Wristbands supported. Radios signed out. Cups of coffee consumed before an early gate call.
But none of those numbers quite capture it.
Summer 2026 was about growth and trust.
It was being asked to take on a major new campsite operation at Silverstone. It was heading into the woods for our first year supporting Lost Village. It was welcoming Farm Fest into our summer calendar. It was returning to Shambala and being trusted with something new.
And it was heading back to the gates and fields of clients like Boomtown, Bristol Pride and Love Saves The Day who continue to put their trust in Ethical Staffing year after year.
To our new clients: thank you for putting your trust in us.
To our returning clients: thank you for continuing to put your trust in our people – and for giving us opportunities to grow alongside you.
And to every member of the Ethical Staffing team who showed up, got stuck in and helped make this summer happen: this one belongs to you.
What a summer.
See you in the fields in 2027.
Latest News & Blogs
Booking the team for next summer off the back of this one? Let's talk.
2026 was gates, wristbands, ticket scanning and a lot of early starts. If you want that kind of festival team for the season ahead, tell us which event you are planning first.