Research by UWE Bristol influences change at two Bristol festivals for people with dietary needs

Research by academics from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) has influenced changes for food vendors at two of Bristol's biggest festivals, improving the experience for festivalgoers living with dietary needs.

Clare MacKay, Senior Lecturer in Events Management, and Dr Ed Little, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, at UWE Bristol have worked with production company Team Love to implement new requirements for food vendors at Love Saves the Day and FORWARDS Festival. The changes will be in effect for this year’s festivals, with Love Saves the Day taking place from 23 - 24 May and FORWARDS in late August.

Clare and Ed’s research, funded by the Association for Events Management Education, focused on the experiences of UK outdoor events attendees living with dietary requirements. The research found that these attendees experience significant anxiety about attending outdoor events due to concerns around cross‑contamination, limited access to suitable food, and stigma from stewards, vendors or fellow attendees. More than half (53 per cent) of respondents said they had opted not to attend an event at least once due to issues related to their dietary needs.

UWE Bristol academics have provided consultation to Team Love, which, as a result of the research, has committed to specific changes that will improve the experiences of attendees with dietary requirements. This includes asking food vendors to be nut free and increasing the number of gluten free food vendors at their festivals. Team Love has also updated its trader application process to include specific questions on dietary requirement accessibility, with responses informing vendor selection.

Additionally, Team Love has also added food vendor menus to Love Saves the Day’s website prior to the event so people living with dietary requirements can make considered decisions before and during the festival. They aim to do the same ahead of FORWARDS.

Clare Mackay said: “I understand first-hand how difficult it is trying to adhere to dietary requirements outside of the home. This collaboration with Team Love, and the changes we are helping to introduce at two of Bristol’s most popular music festivals, will make a real difference to the festival experience for attendees with dietary needs by reducing their anxiety and promoting their inclusion.”

Clare has also worked directly with food vendors who will be present at this year’s Love Saves the Day and FORWARDS. On behalf of Charlotte Jackson, Sustainability Officer at Team Love, she consulted traders on how food provision can be made more inclusive for people with dietary requirements.

As a result of the session, food vendors reported a broadened understanding of the experiences of people with dietary requirements and the stigma they can face at events. Several vendors shared changes they plan to make in light of this learning, including making their stalls more explicitly welcoming, improving the visibility and accessibility of ingredient information, and exploring digital options such as QR codes to support informed choices.

Charlotte Jackson, Sustainability Officer for Team Love said: “At Team Love, we take pride in producing high quality, inclusive and accessible events that can be enjoyed by everyone who attends. Creating an inclusive food culture is important to this; Clare and Ed's consultancy has given us tools to pilot positive changes this year. For example, we will publish our food traders' menus with allergen information ahead of Love Saves the Day and aim to do the same before FORWARDS 2026, and establish allergen-friendly areas on site at both shows.”

Stefan Edwards, Senior Events Officer at Bristol City Council, said: “It is fantastic to see Team Love taking onboard the recommendations from the research, such as making allergen information available pre-event, encouraging vendors to be nut free on site, increasing the number of gluten free vendors, and educating the food vendors on the experiences of attendees with dietary requirements. By putting these recommendations into practice at their events, they will have a hugely positive impact on festival goers with allergies or food intolerances and make their events even more accessible. As Bristol City Council City Events Team, we are continuing to work with other events to encourage them to adopt similar approaches.”