Festigo’s Survival Guide: Defqon.1

Tickets. Check. Travel package. Check. You’ve booked what you need to make your way to the Holy Grounds. But things change year after year and sometimes, all you want is a list to go through to make sure you’re on your way to have a stress-free pilgrimage to Defqon.1.

We’ve put together a small survival guide to help you prepare for the weekend that will change your life.

The essentials

First things first, make sure you have the essentials. Read our Europe Summer Guide to find out more about what you should have with you in Europe both in-and-out of a music festival.

One of the key items is a portable charger. It’s a bit of a walk back to the campsites from the festival grounds to charge your phone – then you need to wait for it to get juiced up! Make sure you also have the correct cable with you.

Festigo tip: Get yourself a bum bag or cross body bag with a zip so you can store everything in one, easy-to-reach place! 

Festival will happen rain, hail or shine

So pack for any weather. Defqon.1 2024 had rain throughout Thursday during the entire pre-party day but Sunday saw temperatures of 36°C. We’re talking sunscreen, poncho and sweater for the same event.

It can get incredibly cold at night, so we advise having sweatpants and a jumper. Or, take a piece of Defqon.1 home and buy some as merch! A word of warning: if you go to sleep super rugged up, you will wake up sweating the next morning.

Festigo tip: Bring a fan! If your accommodation has electricity, we recommend bringing a USB-powered fan to cool the tent (and yourselves) down.

Wipe on, wipe off

Whilst Defqon.1 has showers for festival-goers to use, our team recommends bringing your own towel as they found that the ones provided don’t quite do the job. Finding the wait time for showers too long? A stack of baby wipes can also do the job in a pinch. And if you’re not keen to step in the same puddle as 100,000 other people, a pair of flip-flops/slides can protect your feet from all the nasties of the outside world.

Festigo tip: Pick up a microfibre body towel for a quick-dry, lightweight option for your travels.

BYO, baby

One of our biggest tips is for people for pre-purchase their food and drink. You can bring up to 2 litres of alcohol to the campsite and no limitations on food. Defqon.1 tokens and pricing can get expensive – 2024’s Defqon.1’s pricing on water was 1 – 2 tokens which is the equivalent to $14!

Needing grocery inspiration? Here’s some of last year’s shopping list from the Festigo team:

• Bread and spreads
• Protein bars
• 2 minute noodles (you may also need to pick up a cheap kettle from an Albert Hejin)
• Fruit (e.g. apples, bananas, oranges –  anything with vitamins to keep your sugar levels up)
• Food easy on the mouth that won’t go off over 3 days

Festigo tip: If you can, pick up a cheap trolley/cart to put all your food and drinks in so that you don’t have to carry them into the campsite and it’s easy to move around.

It’s the little things that count

Ever been at an event and realised that the one thing you forgot could have changed your entire experience? Don’t worry, here’s a quick-fire list of items to make sure you’ve got something for any situation:

• Nasal spray
• Blister packs/Bandaids
• Wipes
• Pocket tissues
• Hydrolyte sachets
• Ear protection
• Hand-held fan
• Sunscreen
• Poncho

Festigo tip: Want most of the above with only a fraction of the effort? Grab one of our Defqon.1 Survival Kits and you’ll have everything you need in the one bag.

Make use of storage services

Imagine pulling your suitcase, packed for 5 weeks, across gravel to your tent. Now imagine not having to do that at all. With a bit of pre-planning, you may be able to take advantage of lockers and storage services and take only what you need with your to Defqon.1. 

It’s called fashion, look it up

We know some of you are keen to doll up and we encourage your best looks, however keep in mind that Defqon.1 can sometimes become Dustqon.1 (especially at Yellow stage) so make sure what you’re wearing is comfy! And leave your nice white shoes at home. You’ll no doubt accumulate dirty clothing, so we recommend having a bag for laundry to separate them from your clean.

One last thing to add to your check-list: Bring something for Sunday Funday! Not many people know, but Sunday Funday is dress-up day. Get the gang together to do a theme or let us know if you want to be a part of what Festigo’s cooking up.

Now that you’ve got all that you need we can’t wait to welcome you home, Weekend Warrior.

Want to be a part of Defqon.1 next year? Put yourself down on our list and we’ll contact you the moment all the details drop.