Three smiling Oxfam Festival volunteers wearing sunglasses with arms raised in sky

Rob Carmier

Priority

Volunteering with Oxfam at festivals is extremely popular, and places can get snapped up in moments. Avoid the application day stress by getting Priority.

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How does Priority Work?

Every year we open our stewarding places to volunteers with Priority first, a few days before we open them to everyone else. This gives you a stress-free chance to sign up to your favourite festivals before the rush.

How do I get Priority?

To have priority access when we open our stewarding places, you need to have either:

  • Accrued 6 points in the previous year.
  • Accrued 21 points in the previous 7 years.

You gain points through volunteering with us. Different types of festival accrue different amounts of points:

  • Weekend Festival: 3 points
  • Day Festival: 1 point (per day)
  • Glastonbury (from 2025 onwards): 0 points

Do I have Priority for when places open in 2026?

To have priority access when we open our stewarding places in 2026, you need to have either:

  • Accrued 6 points in 2025.
  • Accrued 21 points between 2019 and 2025.

Priority FAQS:

Yes, the same criteria will apply when we open in 2027. This means to have priority when we open stewarding places in 2027 you will need to have:

  • Accrued 6 points in 2026.
  • Accrued 21 points between 2020 and 2026.

Every autumn after the festival season we calculate who has Priority for next year's applications using the criteria above.

If you qualify, we'll email you with the good news just before Christmas, and again just before we open applications.

Sorry, if you have to cancel your festival place for whatever reason, it will not be counted when we calculate Priority.

Priority helps us offer the best possible stewarding service by ensuring the experienced volunteers whose skills we rely on have the opportunity to come back each year.

It also helps us more effectively raise funds for Oxfam's work, because every volunteer who returns for another summer helps to reduce our training and recruitment costs.

We're really excited to be offering you the chance to volunteer at day festivals as well as weekend festivals. Moving to a points-based system gives us the flexibility needed to value the time you give at these events too.

Stewarding places are filled on a first-come-first-served basis, which is why it's really important to get in early to secure your place.

Unlike stewarding, all festival shop and campaign applications are individually considered, and the best candidates are offered a role at the festival. These selection processes means there is not the same pressure to grab a place early.

Yes, when calculating your points under the 'last 7 years' criteria, festivals from before 2025 will still count.

Weekend festivals from this period, including Glastonbury, Trailwalker, and events cancelled by COVID will all accrue 3 points.

Each day of Lytham 2024 will accrue 1 point.