Saturday, July 11, 2026
It's what we've all been waiting for - Camp Bestival volunteer and paid steward shift preference selection and meal voucher ordering is now open!
If you're joining us as a volunteer there are 13 different volunteer shift patterns to choose between at Camp Bestival this year.
If you're joining us as a paid steward there are 11 different volunteer shift patterns to choose between at Camp Bestival this year.
You have until 3pm on Wednesday 15th July to select your shift preferences, please make sure you have submitted your preferences before this date, as after this, shifts will be allocated based on availability.
Following 15th July it will take us several days to process shift preferences and allocate shift patterns for everyone joining us at Camp Bestival.
Once we have allocated your Camp Bestival shifts, we'll send another email letting you know it's time to login and find out your shift pattern and start planning your festival schedule!
If you're joining us at Camp Bestival with friends and would like to have the same shift pattern, please ensure their name and email address are listed in the Friends section of your PAAM profile so we can ensure you have the same shift pattern!
Don't forget to check that your friends have listed your name and email address in their Friends section too!
Please also make sure that you don't have any friends' names from previous festivals still in your friends list as this can slow down the shift allocation process if we're searching to match you with volunteers who haven't signed up this year!
You'll then need to make sure you and your friends put your shift preferences in the same order.
This is your last chance to update the Friends section of your profile before Camp Bestival shifts are allocated!
To choose your Camp Bestival shift preferences you need to:
You can log back into your PAAM account and change your order of preferences at any time until shift preference selection closes.
Once we've allocated shift patterns, your shift pattern will show on the Overview page of your PAAM account.
Please note, we are a very small team at Hotbox HQ so whilst we're working hard to allocate shifts as quickly as we can there may be some delay in responses to emails and messages! Whilst we're busy allocating shifts you can drop into our Facebook group for help and advice from our previous staff and volunteers!
Shift preference selection can be a little overwhelming - especially if it's your first time joining us - as there are so many different shift options to choose from! We've listed our top tips for working out your order of shift preferences below:
For further information about how shifts are allocated please read the information within the shift planner PDF.
Camp Bestival's meal vouchers can be used at a selection of arena and campsite traders between Thursday 30th July and Sunday 2nd July and are offered at a greatly discounted price compared to normal food prices onsite.
Please note Camp Bestival meal vouchers must be pre-ordered and meal vouchers are only discounted when preordered with Hotbox Events!
If you wait until you are at the festival and buy direct from traders food will cost you more.
We haven't received the list of traders accepting vouchers at Camp Bestival 2026 yet, however we've uploaded the list from last year to the Hotbox Events PAAM Training Portal to give you an idea of the kind of food items you can purchase with a trader voucher.
To preorder your Camp Bestival meal vouchers:
The deadline for pre-ordering meal vouchers is 4pm Thursday 23rd July 2025.
Please note that meal vouchers are non-refundable as we are required to pay for them in advance of the festival.
Don't forget, if you're a paid steward you already receive 1x meal voucher per shift so only need to order more if you would like extra.
Please note, there will be no onsite catering facility open on crew arrival day (Wednesday 29th July), so please plan for this.
The Hotbox compound will house a marquee with tables, chairs and kettles, providing 24-hour access to hot water, tea and coffee, and you're of course welcome to use the kettles for making pot noodles/porridge pots etc. You can also go off-site to do a supermarket run once you have signed in at the festival.
We will be providing some tea, coffee, milk and sugar, although please note we will not be providing disposable cups this year to reduce our environmental impact at the festival. You can purchase a reusable insulated festival keep cup from the Hotbox office in the staff campsite or you're welcome to bring your own to the festival.
Also, if you tend to drink a lot of tea and coffee, please bring some extra supplies as ours won't last forever!
If there is anything you would like to ask or you would just like to chat with us about, the easiest way is to...
You can connect with us @hotboxevents on Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube
If you would like to chat with others who have joined us before, head to our Facebook Group
Here you will find new and returning staff and volunteers chatting about what it is like to join us at festivals, arranging to share lifts, asking and answering questions about working at festivals and making new friends!
If you have not joined us at a festival before and are wondering what it is like, check out some of our staff and volunteer interviews!
In these interviews, you will get to hear from those who have joined us talking about how they found their shifts, how they felt they were looked after by the Hotbox team, what it was like working solo for the first time, taking on more responsibility year on year, and even how the experience and confidence gained has helped with career progression away from festivals.
Another way to see what joining us is like is to check out some of our festival photos!
In our festival photo galleries, you will find thousands of photos covering our festival history over the past twenty years!
It's totally normal to be anxious before coming to a festival, particularly if you're coming solo! We get hundreds of messages every year from people who are keen to join us but nervous about coming alone, so we promise you're not...alone! We're a very friendly bunch and if there's anything we can do to reduce your anxiety, please get in touch! You can also join our Facebook Group to make friends with others before the festival. Within this group you will also find links to some volunteer-led WhatsApp groups that have been set up!
If you have specific questions about joining us at festivals, try our festival FAQs!
Our festival FAQs are regularly updated and packed full of answers to the questions we are usually asked, as well as handy festival hits and tips.
We usually send out an email newsletter every month or so. If you would like to keep up to date with our news and festival happenings, please subscribe!
If you would like to drop us an email, it's info@hotboxevents.com
You can reach our office by phone on the numbers below...
Tel: 01252849600 (UK) select option 2 for Hotbox Events
Tel: +441252849600 (International) select option 2 for Hotbox Events
