Volunteer

What to expect

• A friendly, inclusive team environment with full training and support provided.
• Shifts typically last 6 to 8 hours, with plenty of time to enjoy the festival around your commitments. If we hit our applicant target ahead of the deadline, we may shorten shifts so the rota is comfortable for everyone.
• Free entry to the festival, meals on shift, access to a dedicated crew camping area, and a refundable deposit returned after shifts are completed.
• A brand new site with improved facilities and processes to support volunteers this year.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Existance 2026. Volunteers are the heart of the festival, and we are excited to welcome you to the team.

Important information

• You must be 18 or over by the start of the festival.
• As a volunteer you are expected to arrive on site by Wednesday 10 June, 10:00.
• An on-site induction is mandatory before your first shift.
• Please complete all sections of the application form honestly. It helps us match you to the right role.

The application form collects, among other things, special-category data under UK GDPR Article 9 (medical information, ethnic background) and data about emergency contacts. Both controllers process this data only for the purposes of safe volunteer scheduling, on-site welfare, and emergency response.

Refundable deposit

A £100 refundable deposit secures your volunteer place. It is returned within 7 to 14 days after the festival once you have completed your scheduled shifts in line with the volunteer agreement.

The deposit is the only piece of friction we cannot remove from the application journey. We keep it as low as we honestly can while still bringing no-show rates close to zero, so the volunteers who do sign up have the team they were promised.

Hardship pathway

If a £100 deposit is a genuine barrier to applying, please tell us. The coordination team can talk through a reduced or waived deposit on a case-by-case basis. No one is excluded from volunteering because of money.

Cancellation policy

If you can no longer attend, please tell the coordination team as soon as you know.

• More than 21 days before the festival start (i.e. before 21 May 2026): full refund of the deposit.
• Between 21 and 7 days before the festival start (22 May to 4 June 2026): 50% refund of the deposit.
• Less than 7 days before, or no-show: the deposit is forfeit.

The cancellation window protects applicants against genuine illness and emergency, and protects the volunteer rota against late drop-outs we cannot backfill.

What happens after you apply

• Your application is reviewed by the volunteer-coordination team.
• Your application will be reviewed and if accepted we will contact you via email with induction details and how to pay the refundable deposit.
• You confirm acceptance, pay the refundable deposit, and join the volunteer briefing channel.
• We will then allocate roles and shifts and you will receive a confirmation of this.

Questions

For volunteer-specific questions, contact the Anthropos Events coordination team via the Existance Festival Contact page while the dedicated Anthropos Events enquiries channel is being set up.