Get your festival boots and sunglasses ready — festival season is here! We know that hearing your favourite tracks live is the priority, but seeing everything that happens on stage matters too.
If you’re wondering whether to wear glasses or contact lenses to a festival, here’s our summer festival guide with some tips to help you get the most out of both the sound and the spectacle you’ve paid for.
Should you wear contact lenses or glasses to a festival?
There’s nothing wrong with bringing both, but if you have to choose, contact lenses are going to be the real rock stars when it comes to keeping your eyes in top shape at a festival. Here are some reasons why contacts make more sense than glasses during festival season:
Advantages of contact lenses at festivals:
- Many contact lens brands offer UVA protection to help shield your eyes from harmful sun rays (make sure to pair them with UV-blocking sunglasses for full protection)
- It’s much easier to wear sunglasses or any kind of eye accessory when you’re wearing contact lenses
- Contact lenses won’t get smudged, dusty or fogged up
- You won’t have to worry about your glasses breaking or falling in the mud
- You’ll have better peripheral vision of your surroundings and the crowd
- Replacing lost contact lenses would be far cheaper than replacing lost glasses
Your guide to wearing contact lenses at festivals
Some things at big festivals are unavoidable. There’ll be huge crowds, and not everything goes to plan, so a bit of preparation goes a long way towards making the most of the experience.
If you’re wearing contact lenses at a festival, here are some tips to help you have a great time with brilliant vision.
For daily disposable lens wearers — Daily lenses are ideal when camping or spending several days at a festival. Since they’re single-use, you simply throw them away at the end of the day and put in a fresh pair the next morning for another day of fun. And because they need no cleaning routine, you don’t need to pack lens solution or storage cases. Just remember to bring plenty of pairs, because you never know what might happen at a festival.
For monthly contact lens wearers — If you normally wear monthly lenses and you’re preparing for a multi-day festival, try to bring small travel-sized lens solutions to save space in your bag. It’s also a good idea to bring a couple of lens cases — one to keep your lenses safe in your tent or campervan, and one to carry around with you. With more dust, germs and potentially more pollen in the air at a festival, make sure you thoroughly disinfect your monthly lenses as you normally would.
For colour contact lens wearers — If you want to get the perfect shot for social media, you might want to add a pop of colour to your eyes. If you’re wearing coloured lenses, always follow the care instructions given by your optician and choose daily disposables that need no extra maintenance.
General eye care tips to keep in mind at festivals
Whatever type of contact lens you wear, follow these simple steps to keep your vision healthy and safe.
- Don’t change or insert your lenses in public toilets. Handle your lenses in your own personal space, such as your tent or vehicle
- Thoroughly clean and dry your hands before putting in or taking out your lenses
- Bring antibacterial gel, wipes and soap to make sure your hands are clean at all times
- If your eyes tend to dry out, bring lubricating eye drops that are suitable for use with contact lenses for extra comfort
- Dehydration can cause eye irritation. Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
- If you need to cool down, avoid swimming in ponds or lakes or using mist fans while wearing your lenses
- Wear UVA-blocking sunglasses to protect your eyes from harmful sun rays
- If you wear make-up, put your lenses in first to avoid contaminating them with product
- Bring a small mirror with you to make inserting and removing your lenses easier
The most popular music festivals in Europe
Glastonbury
When we think of epic British festivals, Glastonbury is the first one that springs to mind. This legendary event, which started in 1970, has seen some of the biggest names in the music industry take to its stages over the past 50 years. With around 200,000 people gathering in the fields of Somerset, England, Glasto (as it’s affectionately known) becomes a city in its own right and one of the most popular events of the season. This five-day festival is famous for its unpredictable weather, so wellies — alongside your daily disposable lenses — are an absolute must for a comfortable festival experience.
Primavera Sound
Dust off your best dance moves for the Mediterranean! Primavera Sound is not only Spain’s biggest music festival, it’s also becoming one of the most popular in Europe. This annual Barcelona festival has grown so popular that it now has editions in cities like Madrid and Lisbon, and has even crossed the Atlantic with events in Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Indie, pop, jazz, hip hop — the Primavera Sound line-up has something for every music lover.
Tomorrowland
Look to the future at Tomorrowland. Voted Best Music Event of the Year in Europe five years in a row, this electronic music and dance festival has the bangers we love. Featuring world-renowned musicians and DJs, this Belgian festival is the summer event every electronic and dance music fan should experience. With futuristic displays and elaborate stages, many attendees love dressing up in unique outfits to express their style. Join in the fun and be bold by wearing coloured contact lenses to complement your look for the occasion.
Rock in Roma
This month-long music event in the Italian capital brings all the big hits, with rock bands and artists performing at the Capannelle Hippodrome almost every night from late June through July. From Italian artists to international rock legends like the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen, this month-long series of shows always has the crowd singing along. While attending every gig across the month might be a stretch, wearing your monthly contact lenses is much simpler, so make sure you have enough to last the whole thing.
Lollapalooza Paris
This famous American music festival has made its way to Paris, which now hosts a French edition of this star-studded summer event. The first edition took place in 2016, and since then this weekend-long event has been quickly establishing itself as one of Europe’s most important festivals. Past line-ups have featured artists such as The Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers and David Guetta. The festival takes place at the Hippodrome Paris-Longchamp in July, so there’s still time to grab your tickets before it’s too late.
Now that you know the basics of looking after your eyes and contact lenses at festivals, it’s time to enjoy some live music this summer!