What UK Festivals Could Learn from NOS Alive
By Libby Churm
If you’ve ever staggered through ankle-deep mud, clutching a £5 bottle of water while desperately scanning for enough space to enjoy your favourite band, you’ll know that the UK’s biggest festivals don’t always deliver the experience their price tags promise.
Having spent many a summer in Britain’s fields, I’d accepted that overcrowding, endless queues for overpriced drinks and mountains of rubbish were simply part of the festival experience.
However, after travelling to NOS Alive in Portugal, suddenly festivals looked very different.
Situated alongside Lisbon’s sun-soaked coastline, NOS Alive somehow manages to welcome world-class artists without feeling oversold.
It also takes sustainability seriously and reminds you that a music festival can be about more than just surviving the weekend.
So if Portugal can get it so right, why can’t the UK?
From the moment I arrived at NOS Alive, it was clear this wasn’t going to be an ordinary festival.
Instead of being greeted by security barriers and hours-long queues of people, festivalgoers were welcomed by a vibrant, giant ‘NOS Alive’ entrance logo, complete with a live band performing on top of the structure as crowds danced and streamed in underneath (top image).
It felt less like waiting to get into the festival and more like the party had already begun.
“Carefully curated”
The same good energy and aura carried throughout the site, and throughout the weekend.
Despite hosting some of the biggest names in music, there was space to breathe, lay out blankets and rest your feet while enjoying each performance.
Of course, no festival can call itself world-class without a line-up to match, and NOS Alive certainly delivers.
Across the weekend, the main stage played host to rock and roll legends Foo Fighters, Wolf Alice and Pixies.
While indie favourites Florence and The Machine captivated thousands of festivalgoers, delivering an emotionally charged performance that had everyone singing word for word.
Not an Indie or Rock fan? No problem.
Pop fans were equally spoilt, with rising pop star Zara Larsson bringing her infectious energy to the lineup, proving that NOS Alive are not afraid to mix genres.
It’s this carefully curated blend of legendary bands, rising stars and chart-topping artists that gives the festival such a broad appeal.
Whether you’re chasing goosebumps during Florence and Machine’s set, dancing in the sunshine to pop anthems, or seeing out the rest of the night in the dance tents as DJs kept the party going until the early hours.
“Free samples”
NOS Alive caters for every kind of music lover.
The thoughtful touches didn’t stop there. Between performances, there was plenty to keep festivalgoers entertained, with pop-up stores from brands including KIKO Milano, Skechers, and Valentino giving people the chance to browse, shop or simply escape the crowds for a while.
Unlike many UK festivals where you’re often left standing around waiting for the next act, the ‘downtime’ at NOS Alive felt like an experience in itself.
Around the site, the brands also handed out free samples, adding to the festival’s generous feel.
Kit Kat staff wandered through the crowds, giving away multiple packets of their chocolate cereal, while Lancome treated festivalgoers to mini bottles of perfume.
Small touches like these made the experience feel far more special than simply just another sponsored event.
When it came to food and drink, the choice was just as impressive.
Whether you fancied a quirky cocktail, a crisp glass of wine, or an ice-cold beer, there seemed to be outlets around every corner.
“Sustainability and cleanliness”
Cocktail, wine and traditional beer bars were all dotted across the site and were all so well staffed that queues were non-existent.
Better still, the prices didn’t leave you feeling ripped off. A generously poured glass of wine, almost the size of a pint, cost just €6.
It goes without saying that at many UK festivals, you’d expect to pay double that for a much smaller serving.
Another area where NOS Alive stood out was its approach to sustainability and cleanliness.
Unlike most UK festivals, where overflowing bins, half-eaten burgers and discarded cups eventually become part of the scenery, colour-coded recycling bins were positioned every few meters throughout the festival site.
“Noticeably cleaner”
Whether you were leaving a stage or grabbing more food and drink, there was always a bin nearby, labelled with clear recycling instructions to encourage people to separate their waste.
The result: a noticeably cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing festival environment that didn’t feel like a landfill site.
And then there’s the toilets. For festivalgoers who would do almost anything to avoid the horrors lurking inside Portaloo, NOS Alive had portable toilet cabins, situated around the main stage, equipped with w/cs that actually flush, toilet roll that was always reliably present, and a sink that was never short of handwash and even lotion – a luxury most UK festivalgoers could only dream of.
Ultimately, after spending a weekend at NOS Alive, I started to wonder why us Brits have collectively decided that muddy shoes, overpriced drinks, food and questionable toilets are simply part of the festival package.
Admittedly, the UK cannot compete with Lisbon’s sunshine, but we could certainly take a few notes from Portugal on how to run a world-class music festival.
All images: Libby Churm
