FAQs
All you need to know to enjoy a great day out!
We cannot wait to welcome you on Saturday!
Firstly, thank you very much for your support with M Festival this year as we know times are harder than ever and we hope we can put on an amazing day for everyone to enjoy together. There are a few key points we would like to address before Saturday which are explained below…
Tickets, Security and ‘Challenge 25’ Policy
As usual, we will have a great security team with us during the event and bag searches will be in operation as you enter the festival arena. If you are lucky enough to look under 25 and wish to purchase alcohol at the festival, we will be operating a ‘Challenge 25’ policy at all times so please bring ID with you.
Your tickets which will have been emailed to you contain a QR code that is unique and will be scanned at the gate. Tickets can be presented in printed format or on your phone. If you have purchased a family ticket, you will note that there is one QR code per person which are unique and therefore it is important if your party are arriving at different times, they are each issued with their individual QR code tickets.
Festival wristbands will be issued to everyone upon arrival and must be worn at all times as our security team will be looking out for these.
Re-admittance to the festival arena after 8pm is at the discretion of our security team.
Food and Drink Policy
As usual, we are happy for you to bring your own picnic but please do not bring knives, sharp instruments and anything glass as these will be confiscated by security upon entry. You may bring your own alcohol but please note you are limited to 1 bottle of wine or 4 cans of beer or cider per adult. Neat spirits will not be permitted. If you are unable to decant your glass bottle into a plastic bottle we will provide a bottle sleeve. These cost £5 which is refundable at the bar and help protect the impact of the glass bottle if broken and the danger of glass on the school field.
The bar has draught beer, cider, lager, wine, PIMMS and a range of soft drinks all reasonably priced for a festival (e.g. £5 for a pint of lager, £15 for a jug of PIMMS or a bottle of wine).
We also have a range of food options, including Mediterranean, pizzas, burgers, sausages, fish and chips, vegetarian options, pancakes, donuts, and ice cream.
Tokens and Activity Pricing Policy
We have frozen the price of fun fair rides, our Silent Disco and larger activities at £3 such as Zorbing. Smaller activities are just £1 and we have again included free activities including a Bouncy Slide, Obstacle course, Jungle Run & more.
As we strive to try and make our festival as cashless as possible, we are using tokens once again for payment against all paid activities. Tokens can also be used at ALL food and drink stalls too. Tokens can be purchased from the main gate on entry or the signposted Token Tent before visiting the activities. Tokens can be exchanged back for cash if required. Tokens can be purchased via cash/card – card payments where possible would be preferred to reduce the levels of cash we have on-site.
Vehicles and Parking
All parking for our 2024 festival must be pre-booked online at www.mfestival.co.uk before Saturday 6th July at a cost of £10 per vehicle. Cars can be left on the site overnight on the Saturday but MUST be collected between 9am and Noon on Sunday 6th July 2025.
Line up schedule
We have a fantastic musical line up scheduled for the day, details of which can be found by clicking here. We also have a number of free workshops and activity shows taking place during the day too.
Recycling and Environment
We will be serving all drinks from our bar in our branded plastic cups. These cups will cost £1 but will be refunded when the cup is returned to the bar.
PIMMS will be served in jugs and these will also require a £5 refundable deposit.
St Albans Council are kindly providing us with a range of recycling bins which we would really appreciate you using during your visit to our festival. We have asked all our food and drink providers to be as environmentally friendly as possible also.
If you are feeling unwell
Finally, if you are feeling unwell this weekend, we would kindly ask that you do not attend the festival so that we can keep everyone else as safe and comfortable as possible.
Thank you again for purchasing tickets for M Festival and we look forward to welcoming you on Saturday.
M Festival Team
Further FAQs
Tickets can be purchased online prior to the festival using our secure PayPal payment method. e-Tickets will then be emailed to you immediately that need to be shown and scanned by our ticketing team on the day who will then exchange for a festival wristband.
Tickets will not be available from 2023 on the gate. All tickets must be purchased in advance online at our website here.
You can apply online to book a stall at M Festival by clicking here.
Some of you may like to make use of a gazebo to give protection from the sun (fingers crossed!). Experience has shown that too many gazebos can hamper the enjoyment and safety of other festival-goers, so we have established two simple options to keep everyone happy and safe.
1. We have a limited number of our own 3m x 3m waterproof gazebos (colours may vary) which are available for you to pre-book, on a first-come-first-served basis. These come pre-erected in a prime position and include a table and 6 chairs plus a complimentary bottle of wine or PIMMS pitcher. This VIP Gazebo Package costs £150 and bookings can be made via the Tickets page.
2. We offer a limited number of reserved 3m x 3m pitches for customers to bring their own gazebos, these plots will be located in rows behind the front VIP Gazebo Plots on festival arena. These are priced between £75 – £100 per gazebo per festival and are also available on a first-come-first served basis. These pitches will only be available to book online and will not available to buy on the day.
Pitch your own gazebos can be erected between 10am – 11am on the festival day or after gates open at 1:00pm. All gazebos are left at the owners risk and should be secured using the correct fixings into the grass field. Gazebos may be left overnight after the festival has finished but should be collected between 9AM and 1PM on Sunday 2nd July 2023.
If due to weather conditions on the day we deem it not safe to provide Gazebo packages/plots then these will be withdrawn.
Disabled guests are very welcome to M Festival. As we are hosted at a large school, we are lucky to have disabled toilet facilities on site with step-free access. Please bear in mind that the festival does take place on a grassy field however which could mean difficulty travelling around (especially if it’s wet).
There will be a full cash/card bar serving a range of wines, beers, PIMMS and cider as well as a good selection of top quality food tents – all reasonably priced.
You are welcome to bring your own food and drinks. Alcohol quantities being bought into the festival will be limited to either 4 cans of beer/cider or 1 bottle of wine per person. Neat spirits will not be permitted.
No glass bottles or jars will be allowed however for Health and Safety reasons.
All plastic bottles and cans must be sealed on entry.
*No glass will be allowed on site due to safety reasons. Bottle sleeves will be provided at the entrance gate via a £5 refundable deposit. Deposits can be reclaimed at the bar in exchange for the sleeves.
The British weather can’t always be relied upon, but the ‘M’ Festival will usually go ahead whatever the weather. The festival has been running for 13 years now and has never had to be cancelled (even through torrential rain 2 years running!). However, any decisions to cancel in the event of extreme weather will be taken on the day.
Activities will run on a token-based system. There will a token stall within the festival arena for you to purchase your tokens from via cash or card.
These tokens can be used across all activities and the funfair, plus they can also be used at the festival bar.
Under 5′s come for FREE. We will offer a limited number of activities suitable for our younger audience such as a bouncy castle and a soft-play fun bus.
We operate a ‘Think 25’ policy at the bar and you will be asked for ID before being served if we think you look under 25.
Dogs are not permitted at the concerts with the exception of guide dogs (but please take care during the firework finale).
There are a limited amount of parking spaces available at The Marlborough Science Academy and cannot be guaranteed. Vehicles will be charged £10 to park and this is must be purchased online in advance via our tickets page. Vehicles and their contents are parked at the owner’s risk. We do not accept any responsibility for losses or thefts of any kind of property anywhere on the site.
Valid disabled badge holders will be able to park FREE nearer the entrance of the festival arena in dedicated bays.
Cars can be left on the site overnight on the Saturday but MUST be collected between 9AM and 1PM on Sunday 6th July 2025.
You are welcome to bring a ‘domestic’ camera, but anything deemed ‘professional’ (i.e. detachable lenses and tripod) is prohibited without a press pass and advance permission from artists performing and festival promoters. The use of video recording equipment is not permitted. Ticket holders consent to inclusion in photographic and visual promotion of the Festival.
We will be able to take debit/credit card payments at the ticket gate and festival bar. You can also visit the ticket gate at any time to get cashback for any items you may want to purchase at the festival!
- You are welcome to bring rugs and camping chairs, as seating is not provided unless you have purchased a VIP gazebo package
- No animals (except guide dogs) are allowed on the site
- No glass will be permitted on the site. This is really important – please remember that this is a school playing field and any broken glass could cause serious injury. Security will check all bags upon entry to the festival and any glass items will be confiscated.
- No alcoholic spirits will be permitted onto the site. Please refer to our ‘Food & Drink’ FAQ section for further information on alcoholic quantities permitted.
- Please do not light open fires on the site
After 8PM, festival readmittance will be at the discretion of our security team.
Please contact 07841 279 356 if you wish to lodge a noise complaint during our annual M Festival. Complaints may need to be left as a Voicemail but will be monitored regularly and recorded and made available for inspection by Local Authority officials.