AddressDescription
Bloomsbury Festival 2024 – Human.Kind has inspired a multitude of events, exhibitions, walks, performances, and more for October 2024. To assist the smooth running of this year’s 10 day festival, Bloomsbury Festival is on the search for volunteers to become Festival Event Stewards.
We rely on these Event Stewards to:
- become representatives of the Festival at venues and on walks.
- assist in crowd management, safeguarding, information distribution, attendance checking, set up, and partner communications.
- aide our Staff to put forward successful events.
It is a great way to learn more about the Bloomsbury area and the people within it, as well as get first hand experience at what it’s like to be part of an annual arts, culture and science festival. The people you will get to meet are vast and of varying backgrounds, industries and careers.
The amount of hours/days you volunteer for the Festival depends on your availability, we are willing to work around your schedules. We will need Event Stewards for various events, hubs and walks throughout the 10 days of October (18th-27th) however if you let us know your availability beforehand we can allocate you to shifts that suit your schedule, we only ask than after the Stewarding schedule is confirm you are committed to attending your allocated shifts. Festival days can begin early (generally from 10am) and can go on until late evening (on occasion until 10pm), depending on the events you sign up for. There is no expectation to do full days, you can organise with your supervisor to just attend morning, afternoon or evening sessions to work around any timetables. For events such as our Opening Launch Night (Friday 18th Oct.) and our 3 day Discovery Hub (19th-21st Oct.) we may need Stewards to attend a 3-4 hour shift but this will be upon agreement with your volunteer supervisor. Overall, there is no specific number of shifts Stewards are expected to attend during the festival. However, we do expect Stewards to be available for a few events throughout the festival.
Main Duties
Designed for anyone (18+) who has an interest in supporting the festival and/or gaining additional skills and work experience.
We are looking for people with a friendly and approachable manner who may also be comfortable to take on some responsibilities in crowd management.
The duties of our Event Stewards are to assist our staff at events and venues with crowd management and audience feedback, all volunteers will be briefed in advance but when in doubt you can refer to either a festival staff member present or the 2024 brochure.
You may occasionally be asked to help with set up or pack up of an event under the supervision of a staff member.
If you are allocated to a guided walking tour, you will be the main representative of the Festival during this walk. Ensuring audiences keep up with the tour guide and that the walk is proceeding with little issues.
Event Stewards will also be helping with our evaluation and feedback collection at venues, events and walks. At free turn-up events you may be asked to keep track of audience numbers, promote our feedback QR code and physical forms, as well as report back any feedback from audiences you may hear. We are constantly wanting to evolve the Festival but cannot be in multiple venues at once, Event Stewards assist our festival evaluations and reporting by prompting attendees to provide feedback.
What will the volunteering role offer the student and what will they learn while they are with you?
We will be offering training sessions in September/October during the lead up to the Festival. Though all sessions will be voluntary we encourage volunteers to join where they can.
Wednesday 25 September – Introduction to the Festival and Team
Learn more about what Bloomsbury Festival does. Meet our Festival Team, hear more about their roles within the Festival.
Friday 27 September – Meet and Greet
An in person gathering to meet your fellow volunteers and some of the core festival team. Drinks and snacks on behalf of the festival. Details to be sent closer to the time.
Wednesday 2 October – Bloomsbury Venue Tour
A walking tour of the Bloomsbury area, passing by many of the venues which will host Festival events and exhibitions. Familiarise yourself with the various buildings and locations which work with the Festival, as well as the routes you can take to get to them during your shifts.
Wednesday 9 October – Operational Briefing
Dedicated to cover what the tasks and responsibilities are expected of the Stewards. Daily tasks, where and who to report to each day, responsibilities, and any key details about the Festival Stewards should be aware of.
Additional training sessions may be added in September, including an introduction to Event Management and Box Office. Confirmed volunteers will receive updates regarding any additions.
Overall, Stewards will have first-hand experience in helping run an annual arts, culture and science Festival. Developing their crowd management and customer service skills, problem solving abilities, communication skills, as well as their evaluation experience – helping us gathering feedback from audiences and partners. Due to the position Stewards will also have a chance to meet and work with various Festival Staff members and Event Partners. Event Partners will include multiple professionals within their field, as well as recognised artists, culture and academic institutions, and community organisations. Depending on the events they may also be working closely at the beginning of events with our Box Office team.
