Going to a conciert alone could be the best plan of your life, even if you're about to sell your ticket right now

The WhatsApp group hasn't responded for three days, the ticket is already paid for, and meanwhile, you're browsing Wallapop to see how much you can get for reselling it...

Wait. Before you sell it: we need to talk.

Going to a festival alone might be the best decision you make this summer. They say it on Reddit, in music forums, in Telegram groups, and a lot of people have said it before you: those who went to a concert or music festival alone felt weird for the first twenty minutes..., and then it was an amazing experience. This post isn't going to simply tell you that "everything will be fine," because that's useless. It's going to tell you what fears are real, which ones are lies, how to manage moments of low mood, and what to bring so that neither dodgy bathrooms nor queues ruin the concert you've been looking forward to the most.

Is it a good idea to go to a festival alone?

It depends on what you expect. If you expect to have someone next to you to share the moment when the song you've been dreaming of for years plays: no, you won't have that IN PRINCIPLE. But if what you're looking for is to see all the artists you want, move at your own pace, stay until the end without negotiating, and meet people you wouldn't have crossed paths with in another context: yes, it's a very good idea.

The proof is in the forums. Thread after thread, the same story: "my plans fell through, I went alone, and it was the best thing I've done in a long time."

And there's one thing everyone who has gone to a festival alone confirms: nobody cares that you're alone. Seriously. They're too busy looking at the stage, searching for their friends through the smoke, or recording stories they probably won't even upload.

The advantages of going to a festival alone that you might not have considered

The most obvious is the freedom of schedule: you see all the concerts you want without negotiating with anyone. But there's more.

• Zero group drama: no arguments over schedules, where to sleep, or the classic "I want to leave now" at midnight when you're in full swing.
• It's easier to meet people: when you go with your group, the group is a bubble. When you go alone, you're open by default. People approach you more, you approach them more, and new connections happen much more often at festivals when someone goes without their usual crowd.
• Self-esteem boost: there's something about doing something alone that initially felt scary that leaves you with a strange feeling of "I can handle this." Many people compare it to the first time they traveled alone.
• You decide when and how you go to the bathroom: no one waiting for you, no holding it in because the artist starts in ten minutes. That, with a pee-friendly kit, is another dimension (more on that below).

The most common fears about going to a festival alone and how to debunk them one by one

Am I going to look like a loser?

You won't look like anything, because nobody will be looking at you. 95% of people at a festival are looking at the stage, looking for someone, at the bar, or on their phone. No one is taking inventory of who's accompanied and who isn't.

And if someone does think that: you don't care, because you're already inside, listening to the concert you wanted to see. Just like them.

What if I don't meet anyone and get bored?

Boredom at a festival is quite difficult, but if you're worried about meeting people, there are specific ways to make it easier before you arrive. Look for Telegram, Discord, or Facebook groups for the event (yes, Facebook is still used). Most big festivals have active communities where people meet up, organize carpooling (that is, sharing rides), or simply announce where they'll be.

During: the entrance queue is an ideal place. Comment on someone's shirt, ask for a lighter, offer water. Small things that sound forced in normal life but are completely natural at a festival.

I'm afraid of the atmosphere: drunk people, drugs, dodgy situations?

This fear has a real component. Festivals have excesses, and if you go alone, you don't have someone next to you to say "hey, I don't like this situation." So the answer isn't "it's fine," but rather: pay more attention than you would if you were accompanied, trust your instincts, and if something or someone makes you feel uncomfortable, leave without justifying yourself. Large festivals have security personnel, chill-out areas, and medical aid points. Locate them on the first day.

What if I get stressed or have an anxiety attack?

It happens. At large festivals, with lots of people, noise, heat, and hours of standing, there are moments of overwhelm that can become something more. If you know you're prone to this: identify rest areas away from the crowd, bring earplugs if the volume triggers you, and understand that leaving the venue for an hour isn't giving up, it's being smart. The festival is still there when you come back.

And it's worth saying that this feeling can appear whether you go alone or with others: it depends much more on who you are than who you go with.

Going to a festival alone as a woman

The fears that women have when going to a festival alone are specific and deserve their own section. Harassment, the walk back late at night, solitary bathrooms at night: these are real concerns, not excessive caution.

What women who have already done it often repeat: inform someone trustworthy with real-time location sharing, have a clear plan for getting back to accommodation (preferably sticking with the crowd, avoiding dark areas and empty lots), and if at any point you feel uncomfortable, stick close to a group of girls or security personnel, without any fuss.

As for clothes: closed-toe shoes (I know, it's summer, but unsupported sandals won't last a festival), a fanny pack close to your body, and nothing that forces you to constantly readjust things.

And one practical thing that few people mention: going alone also means you have to deal with all the portable toilet queues and blue hells yourself, with no one to guard your backpack or spot. A pee-friendly kit greatly reduces this, and also reduces the moments of going into a disgusting plastic cabin alone at night, which is precisely the context where you least feel like it. A disposable urinal bag from PlanPee, a couple of FreshTowel compressed wipes, and an absorbent brief just in case (PeeShorty Femme) provide a margin of autonomy that is twice as valuable when you're alone.

Practical tips for going to a festival alone

Before the festival

The most useful thing you can do before you arrive is to join the festival's groups: Telegram, Discord, or Facebook (yes, again, Facebook). In all of them, there are people who are also going alone, looking for company for camping, to meet at the entrance, or to coordinate by stage.

And for those who want to go further: Tinder has "festival mode" features for specific events. Some people have been asking for it for a while...

Also: define your safety plan. Share your location with someone trustworthy, be clear about how you'll get back (bus schedules, taxi, train), and carry a copy of your documents on your phone.

And put the PlanPee pee-friendly kit in your backpack.

The bathroom situation when you're alone

Bathroom queues at a big festival are a serious matter. The usual ratio is 1 portable toilet for every 75-100 attendees (and it's not even clean). When you're with someone, they can hold your spot while you queue. When you're alone: either you hold it, or you lose the spot you've been trying to get for an hour, or you carry the disposable urinal bag from PlanPee and reduce your reliance on those plastic cabins to the bare minimum. Unisex, 600 ml capacity, odorless. And after use, it seals hermetically and is thrown in the trash.

After the festival

The post-festival blues are real. If you go alone, sometimes it's more intense because you don't have anyone to debrief with immediately. Typically, it lasts a couple of days, and then the good memories, which are usually many, remain.

What helps most: write down what you've seen, discovered, experienced. Share your experience in festival forums or groups. Every time someone who went alone tells their story, they help the next person searching "going to a festival alone" decide to go.

The kit for going to a festival alone without drama

Without excess, the essentials:

• Ticket + ID (and a copy of everything on your phone... just in case).
• Mobile phone + power bank + cable.
• Fanny pack or small anti-theft backpack.
• Earplugs (for multi-day festivals, your ears will thank you).
• Reusable bottle, and locate water points. You have a pee-rfect one here.
• Cap, sunscreen, some simple food (bars, fruit, nuts, and whatever can withstand the heat). Remember that by law, they must let you bring food into the festival.
• Cash, because card payment connection at festivals is a lottery.
• PlanPee Kit: disposable urinal bag, FreshTowel wipes and soluble toilet seat cover, and if there's camping, the folding dry toilet with SolidPee.

No queue stealing your moment, no blue hell ruining your night. That's truly going alone: with your own plan for everything.

Going to a festival alone is for the strong. Going to a festival alone with your own bathroom plan is for BOSSES.

(Pass this post to anyone you know who's hesitating about going to a festival or concert alone)