SERIES: Launch a Summer Music Festival

S1-S3

60–90 minutes

Launch a Summer Music Festival: Plan the Location, Transport and Visitor Journey

A brilliant festival idea can fail if visitors cannot get there, understand the site or move around comfortably and safely. You will choose a location, research transport and accessibility, then design the journey from planning the trip to getting home. By the end of this challenge you will: Evaluate a location using practical criteria […]

Launch a Summer Music Festival: Plan the Location, Transport and Visitor Journey

Your Mission

Make the festival physically believable by choosing a site and designing the complete visitor journey.

You will score location options, map the journey from home to stage, research travel and access, and design the site around real visitor needs.

The Shape of This Challenge

Discover

✏️ ️ Notice & question

Explore

️ Investigate & test

Create

✏️ Make & communicate

Reflect

️ Think & apply

Discover

Start with practical constraints rather than a pretty map.

Step 1

Choose a Site With Constraints

✏️ Location criteria · 8–10 mins

We are learning to evaluate a festival location using audience, access and event needs.

A beautiful location is not enough if transport, capacity or basic services make the event impossible.

Your Task

Create six location criteria: capacity, transport, neighbours/noise, ground/space, facilities, accessibility, sustainability or another factor.
Choose a real or fictional location.
Score it against all six.
Identify the weakest area.

I can evaluate a site against practical event criteria.

→ This gives your location choice an evidence-based reason.

Problem SolvingCritical ThinkingOrganisation

Step 2

Walk the Visitor Journey

️ Journey mapping · 8–10 mins

We are learning to think through the event from a visitor’s point of view.

The experience begins before the gate and continues after the final song.

Your Task

Map plan trip → travel → arrival → entry → move around → food/welfare → stages → exit → journey home.
At each stage, write one visitor question or problem.
Choose the three moments where poor information would cause the most stress.

I can identify visitor needs across the full event journey.

→ This creates the structure for site and travel information.

CommunicationEmpathyProblem Solving

Explore

Use real travel evidence and test how people move through the site.

Step 3

Research Travel and Access

Choose your route · 12–15 mins

We are learning to use real transport and accessibility information to test the location.

Good event planning includes people who arrive in different ways and have different access needs.

Your Task

Complete one research route for your site.
Record at least three travel options.
Identify one accessibility consideration and one sustainability consideration.
Change the site/travel plan if the evidence exposes a serious weakness.

⚡ Quick Track

Use public maps and transport information to compare car, public transport and active-travel access. Note travel times or constraints.

Dig Deeper

Add accessibility, crowd-flow and late-night departure considerations. Compare two possible locations if your first site has a major access problem.

I can use real-world information to improve visitor access planning.

→ This adds operational evidence to your plan.

ResearchProblem SolvingDigital Citizenship

Step 4

Design the Site for Movement

️ Map + test · 10–15 mins

We are learning to organise a site so visitors can move, find essentials and avoid obvious conflicts.

A site plan is an information and safety system as well as a layout.

Your Task

Place stages, entrance/exit, food, toilets, water, first aid/welfare, accessible routes and one quiet/rest space.
Draw the busiest likely movement routes.
Identify one crowd conflict or confusing journey.
Redesign the layout or signage to reduce it.

I can create a site layout that supports movement, access and visitor needs.

→ This becomes the map in your final visitor plan.

Problem SolvingCreativityEmpathy

Create & Share

Create visitor information that could genuinely appear on the festival website.

Step 5

Create the Visitor Journey Plan

✏️ Plan · Create · 25–35 mins

We are learning to communicate location, travel and site information clearly enough for a visitor to use.

Your output should answer the practical questions a festivalgoer asks before and during the event.

Your Task

Justify the location using at least three criteria.
Include travel options and arrival/departure information.
Include a site map with essential services and accessible routes.
Highlight one sustainability choice and one safety/welfare choice.
Choose one output below.

Festival Site and Journey Map

1 page · labelled map + 150–200 words

⏱ 25–30 mins

Show travel, arrival, movement, services, accessible routes and exit.

Visitor Travel and Access Guide

1 page · 300–350 words

⏱ 25–30 mins

Write practical information a visitor could read before attending.

Festival Operations Brief

4 slides · maximum 30 words per slide

⏱ 30–35 mins

Present location case, transport, site journey and key risk/mitigation.

I can create a clear visitor plan that connects location, transport, access and site design.

→ This is your finished mission output.

Problem SolvingCommunicationResearch

Step 6

Reflect, Apply, Look Forward

️ Think or discuss · 5–8 mins

We are learning to reflect on how operational planning shapes the audience experience.

Next you will turn the concept into something people recognise and want to share: the brand and launch campaign.

Your Task

Answer the prompts.
Name one visitor problem your design prevents.
Write three words the brand should make the audience feel.

Reflect

Which visitor moment needed the most redesign?

Apply

How could journey mapping improve another service or event?

Look Forward

How might real-time transport data or AI assistants change festival visitor information?

I can explain how logistics, accessibility and information design affect trust.

→ Your visitor plan now feeds into the brand and website content.

ReflectionProblem SolvingCommunication

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TOOLKIT

Choose Your Tools

Use the tools available to you. The quality of the thinking, research and audience experience matters more than a particular app.

Map

Use maps, public transport information and venue/location data. A fictional site is also acceptable if constraints are clearly stated.

Design

Think from the visitor point of view: arrival, entry, stages, food, toilets, accessibility, quiet/welfare space and exit.

Create

Use a site map, visitor guide or operations briefing.

Educator / Parent Notes

Age, Stage and Prior Learning: Designed for S1–S3. A fictional site is acceptable where detailed local research is difficult.

Before You Start: Do not turn this into professional safety planning; the challenge is about visitor experience, access and basic operational reasoning.

How to Open This: Ask: “At what point does a festival begin for the visitor — when the first act starts or when they plan the journey?”

Scheduling: Steps 1–4 need 35–45 minutes; Step 5 needs 25–35 minutes.

If a Pupil Gets Stuck: Provide one site and a visitor-journey template. Focus on arrival, stages, toilets/water and exit.

For Fast Finishers: Ask learners to compare two locations or redesign the plan for a visitor with specific access needs.

Marking Guidance: Look for evidence-based location choice, visitor empathy, accessible routes, practical information and one clearly solved flow problem.

Launch a Summer Music Festival: Plan the Location, Transport and Visitor Journey

Launch a Summer Music Festival: Plan the Location, Transport and Visitor Journey

Discover

Choose a Site With Constraints

Walk the Visitor Journey

Explore

Research Travel and Access

Design the Site for Movement

Create & Share

Create the Visitor Journey Plan

Reflect, Apply, Look Forward

Show What You Have Learned

Map

Design

Create

Show What You Have Learned

Map

Design

Create

TOOLKIT

Map

Design

Create

Educator / Parent Notes

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