The time is now to start your own wellness festival – here’s why
As wellness culture continues to grow in popularity, a newer, altogether more serene vision of the ‘festival’ is emerging.
Up until fairly recently, festivals were pretty much synonymous with drinking culture, staying up into the early hours, and (if in the UK) sliding through gigantic mud patches while trying not to spill your pint.
But as wellness culture continues to grow in popularity, a newer, altogether more serene vision of the ‘festival’ is emerging.
It seems that we’re entering the era of the wellness festival – something that shares many similarities with traditional music festivals, but which is more likely to feature yoga classes, mindfulness sessions, and gut-friendly foods as headline acts than Coldplay or Dua Lipa.
If you’re into the world of wellness, now could be a very good time to turn your passion into a thriving festival for like-minded people. Read on to find out why.
What is a wellness festival?
A wellness festival is a festival that focuses on giving attendees the chance to explore and improve their mental and physical wellbeing.
They typically involve a mix of classes and workshops – think yoga, mindfulness, breathwork, and inspirational speakers – and often also incorporate live music, too.
At Ticket Tailor, we’ve seen lots of wellness festivals popping up on our platform, which demonstrate how diverse these wellbeing-focused happenings can be. For example, alongside yoga, mindfulness and breathwork classes, the Orbit Wellbeing Festival features a Fatboy Slim DJ set and Nile Rogers & Chic tribute band. Nice!
The HLTH is WLTH Wellbeing Festival features side-splitting comedy and soul-stirring live music, as well as interactive classes, and celebrity experts. And The Saunaverse features everything you need to discover the benefits of the ancient sweat bathing practice of (you guessed it) saunas. Intriguing!
6 reasons to get in on the wellness festival trend
Feeling inspired? Here are six reasons to get involved with the burgeoning wellness festival scene sooner rather than later.
The wellness industry is soaring
The wellness industry has been around for a long time in one form or another. Although, today’s version puts a lot more emphasis on improving overall physical and mental wellbeing than, say, the damaging weight-loss-obsessed mantras of decades gone-by. As diet culture continues to take a beating (thankfully), the term ‘wellness’ focuses on everything from improving your gut health to eradicating insomnia and finding inner peace. (Of course, any fad-driven movement does always tend to come with a fair amount of over-inflated claims – although people seem to be more savvy to this than ever. One study shows that efficacy and scientific credibility are two of the most important factors when selecting wellness products.)
The wellness industry is worth $1.8trillion worldwide – a clear indicator that it’s not going anywhere any time soon. Consider, too, that roughly half of people surveyed in a recent study have purchased fitness wearables at some point in time – AKA devices that detect everything from your blood sugar levels to the quality of your sleep. Then, take a scroll through social media to discover an abundance of wellness influencers. All of this points to a truly booming wellness era.
The sober-curious movement is growing
We’ve probably all heard by now that Gen Z are drinking less than older generations. And there are definitely the stats to back this up. One recent UK study revealed that around a third of 18-24 year olds don’t drink alcohol at all, for example. Another study revealed that a relatively small 27% of Gen Z from the UK, and even smaller 17% from the USA planned on drinking alcohol or taking drugs at a festival in 2023. And that only 5% of Gen Z are most excited about drinking when they get to a festival.
Stats like these have earned Gen Z a reputation as the ‘sober curious’ generation. Although it’s not just the young’uns that are experimenting with less alcohol consumption. Another recent study revealed that 41% of American adults planned to drink less in 2024, including 49% of millennials. Mental health was listed as the top reason for this.
All of this translates into one undeniable truth: the sober curious movement is becoming mainstream. And it’s because people are interested in protecting their wellness, rather than jeopardising it in return for ‘good’ (read: alcohol-fuelled) times.
People still crave the connection of festivals
Despite some pretty tumultuous times during the pandemic, festivals aren’t going anywhere. Skiddle saw a 30% rise in festival ticket sales in 2023 compared with 2022. The total attendance at UK festivals hit 6.5 million in 2023, set to increase to over 8 million by 2027. And around 32 million people in the USA attend at least one festival each year.
In other words, the festival industry in general shows no sign of slowing up. In fact, the UK festival market size measured a huge £3.8billion in 2023.
Interestingly, one study revealed that, of those surveyed, the primary motivation for attending a music festival was nothing to do with the music itself – but was simply ‘togetherness’.
It’s safe to say, then, that there’s a huge appetite for all that festivals can offer. The togetherness, the connection, the shared experience – these are all things a wellness festival can nail.
Improved mental health is a growing priority
People are increasingly keen to improve their mental health, as demonstrated by one study that revealed 36% of respondents cited improved mental health as a top New Year’s resolution for 2024. Plus, a huge 81% of workplaces have increased their focus on employee mental health since the pandemic.
As wellness festivals tend to tap into all aspects of wellbeing – including mental and spiritual wellbeing as well as physical health – there’s no better time to capture the interest of those who are actively seeking ways to improve their mental health.
Major festivals are already on board
Anyone who’s been to Glastonbury will be aware that the iconic UK festival has always had an affinity with wellness and healing. For example, its Healing Field hosts a variety of workshops each year including Yoga, Tai Chi, Dance, Singing, Meditation, and Massage. Likewise Latitude Festival features elements such as The Zen Den, Temple of Connection, a Yoga Tent and even a luxury spa retreat.
If the major festival players are on board with wellness culture, it’s safe to say this is a trend worth paying attention to. Of course, the beauty of creating a festival that focuses solely on wellness is that it’s not being treated as an afterthought… and there (probably) won’t be the chants of drunken passers-by to contend with as they make their way to the rave tent, either.
Brands and celebs are leading the way
Wellness culture has been embraced by many high profile figures – Gwyneth Paltrow with her (sometimes controversial) brand Goop being a prime example.
Goop holds regular wellness summits each year, which see expert teachers in the field of health and wellbeing impart invaluable wisdom to eager attendees.
Fern Cotton has also recently been hosting her very own wellness-centred festival – Happy Place Festival – which, alongside great headline music acts, incorporates a whole host of classes, workshops and treatments.
Even sports brand Nike recently debuted its own wellness festival in London, combining mindfulness sessions, recovery treatments and workouts inspired by Nike Studios.
Tips for planning your own wellness festival
It’s safe to say hosting a wellness festival could be a seriously rewarding move right now. There’s clearly a huge appetite for all things health and wellbeing out there – with major festivals, brands and celebrities embracing the trend. Statistics show a discernible shift away from the lairy drinking culture of years gone-by. And that people are actively seeking ways to improve all aspects of their wellbeing, including their mental health.
Now that you’re (almost definitely) convinced that planning a wellness festival is right for you – you might find these quick tips for doing so useful 😌👇.
Define a clear tone for your wellness festival
As we highlighted above, wellness festivals in themselves can be really diverse. You might want there to be a big live music element to your festival, for example. Or you may want to run an event that focuses solely on workshops and classes. You may want there to be some alcohol at your event – or for it to be a fully sober retreat. Likewise, your festival could be family-friendly, with lots of fun stuff for kids, or adult-only. Defining the tone of your festival early on will help you create a cohesive, enjoyable event – and to know exactly who to market it to.
Cultivate valuable partnerships
There are so many amazing wellness brands and independent businesses out there – so it makes sense to cultivate some exciting partnerships to enhance (and even help fund) your event. Your festival could feature stalls selling wellness products, food and drinks from various brands, for example.
Likewise, it’ll be important to cultivate partnerships with influencers, teachers and thought-leaders in the wellness space. Working with experts will help lend your festival credibility, and make it much more enticing for potential attendees.
Choose your festival site carefully
Your festival site should harmonise perfectly with the overarching tone of your festival, while meeting your more practical needs. Will your attendees be up for getting back to basics with woodland camping, or do you feel they’ll expect more robust (read: luxe) glamping facilities? What practical elements do you need to have in place for your various classes and workshops – do you require any indoor spaces, or will tents do? Does your festival site need to have a fully serene, back-to-nature feel, or would something more town-based work better?
We’re only scratching the surface here 👆– the key is to treat your festival site as a number one priority in the earliest of planning stages. Give yourself plenty of time to scout, and don’t settle for anything that doesn’t work well with your vision.
🧘 Your wellness festival ticketing, sorted
Looking for a ticketing partner that can help your wellness festival plans go off without a hitch? Ticket Tailor is packed with useful features designed specifically to help festival creators save time, and maximise the success of their events. Like our free check-in app, which lets you seamlessly scan tickets at the entry of your festival, and our handy Waitlists feature which can be a life-saver if you sell out your events. You can also sell cool merch, add-ons and additional experiences through your Ticket Tailor account with Ticket Tailor Products and your own Ticket Tailor Store.
Plus, we’re one of the cheapest ticketing platforms around thanks to the fact we’re independent, and genuinely care about making things affordable for event creators.
🎟️ Find out more about festival ticketing with Ticket Tailor >
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