Can they ban you from bringing food to a concert? NO MORE. It's now legal to bring food to festivals.

December 27, 2025

¿Te pueden prohibir comida en un concierto? YA NO. Ya es legal llevar comida a festivales

You can now bring your own food to the music festival and it's legal

December 2025. A court in Valencia has just done something that seemed impossible: put a stop to an entire industry.

A judge has declared the ban on bringing outside food and drinks to festivals illegal . That's it. Madrid Salvaje AIE (one of the main festival organizers in Spain) lost a lawsuit. Who filed the suit? FACUA, the consumer association.

A comedic portrayal of the trial between Facua and Madrid Salvaje over the ban on bringing food into festivals

The Court of First Instance number 4 of Valencia has clearly stated that prohibiting entry with food and drink to festivals is illegal. They can't deny you entry now just because you bring your own sandwich... or whatever else you want to bring, of course. Suit yourself :)

It sounds silly, right? But it's bigger than it looks.

Come on, let's be honest. How many times have you gone into a festival thinking "well, I'll just eat something inside," and when you get to the bar you almost have a heart attack?

Sixty euros for entry. Eight hours stuck in there. A sandwich: €12.95 (and it wasn't even good), plus a soft drink for €5. It's literally highway robbery...

How much money does one spend on food and drink at music festivals?

Until now you had three options, all bad:

You were paying those outrageous prices,
You'd go out to eat (and miss the concerts you wanted to see),
or you endured it on an empty stomach.

And who made a fortune? The festivals, of course. Because they made you their hostage.

Movie theaters have been doing the same thing for years , and we all know it: they make more money selling popcorn than tickets. The profit margin is huge. So what they did was simple: they explicitly banned bringing in outside food. Perfect. A win-win situation.

(Leave a comment on the post if you've also tried to sneak a homemade microwave popcorn into the cinema...).

FACUA saw it clearly, sued, and won

But what exactly does the ruling say? Judge Vicente Sanchís explains it in a way that even your cousin's brother-in-law would understand:

" The essential activity of the event is purely musical . It cannot be forgotten that it is highly unlikely that food and drink will not be consumed during such a long period. Prohibiting the entry of outside food forces people to consume in the establishments on the premises, imposing an unsolicited supplementary service ."

In other words: " If you force me to eat inside, you're giving me a service I didn't ask for. And if you make me eat outside, I miss part of the experience. Both are illegal . "

That's in the General Consumer Protection Law (the one that protects your rights when they try to sell you a pig in a poke).

Oh, and there's more. They also canceled another scheme: they were charging €3 for "management fees" if you wanted to withdraw any remaining money from your cashless wristband . Spoiler alert: managing money you already have doesn't cost €3. It costs nothing, in fact.

After cinema: now it's the legal turn to bring food to festivals

Cinemas have already lost the first battle
This has been going on for a long time; cinemas have been trying the same thing for years and losing.

2017 : The Spanish Consumer Agency already said " banning food in cinemas is abusive "

2019 : In Andalusia, they started removing signs from cinemas that said " food prohibited ".

2024-2025 : Yelmo Cines fined 30,000 euros; other chains fined more than 12,000 euros

Now it's the festivals' turn. And the legal precedent is already clear: you can't turn people into captive consumers if they don't want to be.

The real drama of festivals is something else entirely, and you know it...

Look, let's talk about something uncomfortable (or not) that they never mention in the headlines about this sentence.

Imagine it's 5:00 PM at the festival. You've been there for five hours. You desperately need to use the restroom. And when you approach, you see a line of sixty people. Sixty. You look at the stage. The band you wanted to see is playing in ten minutes. You can't miss it. What do you do?

You'll probably do what everyone else does: you just endure it. You squirm, it hurts, you're uncomfortable, you lose focus... And you spend the last concert wondering where the hell the nearest bathroom is. (Damn it... I'M GOING TO EXPLODE!!!).

Here's the fact that will really blow your mind (well, not you, your head will...): festivals are legally required to have one toilet for every 75-100 people . (What?!) But as you can imagine, they almost never comply. The queues are epic...

Do you know what happens when you hold it in for too long ? Infections. Temporary incontinence (or permanent, if you do it regularly). Worsening digestive problems. And if you're pregnant, have endometriosis, or any digestive condition, the festival becomes a complete nightmare.

Now, when they forced you to buy expensive food inside, you spent time at the bars. Less free time = less urgent need for the bathroom. It was almost a "side benefit" of the extortion. But that doesn't mean it was fair, not a chance.

With this ruling (and the legal obligation to provide free water at festivals ) you have freedom on two fronts:

You bring your own sandwich. Your own snacks... You save money by controlling your own time, since you don't depend on expensive bars... So you might even drink more .
If you drink more, you feel the urge to pee more. It's inevitable.

Urinal bag for festivals and concerts, a solution for women and men to urinate. 600cc bag

So if you want some (good) advice... whether or not you pack a snack and a drink in your backpack, pack your PlanPee urination pouch. Trust me, it will save your life more than once.

The urine bag contains a material that solidifies any liquid in about a minute. Need to use the restroom urgently and want to save yourself hours? Or don't mind waiting in line but find portable toilets disgusting or you can't stand touching a public toilet ? No problem! Pee in your bag and then simply throw it away. One less thing to worry about!

Let's continue with the laws. If you want to delve even deeper into the topic, here's a video from FACUA that explains it in more detail:

What is currently allowed at festivals and concerts

✅ Bring food and non-alcoholic drinks to the festival (alcohol depends on the municipality, but food is a given)

✅ Festivals are required to allow it. If they don't let you in, it's illegal. Period.

✅ You can complain if you were previously prohibited from doing so. Use the complaint form. File a complaint with FACUA. It's your right.

⚠️ ATTENTION!! : The ruling primarily affects Madrid Salvaje. Other festivals may appeal or initially ignore it . You may still encounter resistance, because this industry doesn't give up easily. But the legal precedent is established, and legally, it supports you.

The uncomfortable questions everyone is asking now:

Are festivals going to raise ticket prices now?

Probably so. They'll lose income from food sales, and they'll make up for it elsewhere... Business is business, that's just how it is. But at least it'll be an honest debate, not a disguised robbery.

Was a sentence really necessary for this?

Absolutely. When an industry adopts an abusive business practice, it must be broken legally. It doesn't disappear on its own.

Does this apply to all festivals in Spain?

Not automatically. Only Madrid Salvaje is bound by this ruling. But it sets a significant precedent. Other attendees could sue if they are banned. And FACUA is already monitoring the situation.

What if they put pressure on me at the door?

Show them the court order on your phone. Show it to the doorman. If they refuse, file a complaint. It's your right. HERE IS THE COURT ORDER TO SHOW.

Legal sources and references:

PS: If this ruling seems epic to you, wait until you discover the rights you already have at festivals that no one takes advantage of. Free water . Decent hygiene . Reusable cups . The right not to be a captive consumer. See you in the next post.