Emergency: what to do if you lose your phone and friends at a festival

Nightmare.

We've all been there - you're at a festival, you're a little worse for wear and things go wrong. it's happened to the best of us. Losing your friends or your phone in a giant arena can be a headache, but not to worry - here are our top tips on what to do when disaster strikes.  

If you lose your friends:

1.Make a plan This seems obvious but you might forget about it in your excitement. Gather everyone before ye start drinking (the ‘before’ part is key) and plan a strategy. Know which acts everyone wants to see and choose a meeting point where ye can find each other of ye get split up. Have their numbers written on a piece of paper in case your phone dies. 2.Don’t panic If and when disaster does strike, the most important thing is to stay calm. At the end of the day, your friends will likely turn up, but getting panicky, especially if you’re after drink, won’t help.   3.Retrace your steps Your gang could well be somewhere you’ve already been, so check all the spots you’ve hit already if ye don’t have a specific meeting point. Try not to wander off too much. 4.Stranger danger Making friends is one of the best things about festivals but choose wisely. Not to sound like your mam but if someone seems dodgy, they probably are. Make it known that you’re here with a group and stick to busy areas with lots of people if you can. 5.Tell someone This is what the stewards are here for. If your friend still hasn’t turned up the next day, make sure you report it – you want to be sure that everyone makes it home safe.

As for your phone:

1.Bring a festival phone Why risk losing your smartphone when a good old-fashioned blokia will do the same job? You’re there to enjoy the experience so leave the Snapchatting for one weekend. A brick phone will also be a lot less appealing to thieves. 2.Use a bumbag Not the most fashionable accessory, but a bumbag will be harder to rob from than a backpack or shoulderbag.   3.Hit the lost and found You’ll probably assume that bad guys took it, but there are some decent people out there so you’d be mad not to check if your phone’s been handed in. 4.Have a backup plan Remember what we said about writing your friends’ numbers down? This is precisely when having those numbers will come in handy. 5.Report the theft Gardaí do sometimes recover lost or stolen goods, so even if you think all hope is lost, bring it up with them. You never know!