Our Volunteers Say
As a charity organisation Rhythms of the World can only happen with the help, time and dedication of up to 800 volunteers.
Our volunteer teams lead all aspects of the festival from set up crew and staffing the festival weekend to year round roles such as those in the finance or communications team.
There are many great reasons to get involved with Rhythms of the World, here’s what some of our incredible volunteers say.
You can also Meet Our Team of Trustees and Heads of Group
Val Bell
Val started volunteering with ROTW in 2009 on the ticket gate. In recent years she additionally helped with the Green Team (litter and recycling) and now she does the ‘ring round’ to volunteers in the Green Team in the months before the festival. On the festival weekend, she does a bit of ticket gate and Green Team. She lives in Luton, is in her 60s and this will be her 5th festival.
Q: What keeps you coming back to ROTW?
A: I love the sense of community and fun. It can be hard work and tiring, but so enjoyable. I initially volunteered as a favour to my daughter who is on the year-round organising Committee but I enjoy it so much I keep coming back. Even litter picking is fun! It sounds like a horrible job but it’s one of my favorites. The festival-goers are so nice, we can do it in pairs and have a wander through the crowds soaking up the atmosphere at the same time. You can hear the music and see the bands too – it’s also lovely to have people coming up to you and praising the site for being so clean and lovely to be in, and even the kids go round helping you.
Q: What sort of tasks do you do?
A: We start the Green Team ‘ring round’ around two months before the Festival, calling volunteers from previous years to see if they want to come back and see how many litter pickers we can get to rejoin us. Then we try to identify new volunteers to fill any gaps.Last year at the festival, I worked on the gate one day and litter picking the next. A typical day might be registering to get a wristband, going to the volunteer tent to pick up some water, going to a briefing and spending a couple of hours ticketing, wristbanding and even challenging some of the younger people for ID. My worst moment was asking a guy for ID only to find out he was 38! He had some on him so it must happen a lot… I like to think so anyway!
Q: How has volunteering changed you? What have you learned about yourself and what skills have you developed in your role?
A: I’d never been to a music festival before ROTW but definitely would now – only glamping not camping of course! I love the fact that this isn’t too large, it’s walkable and you can go round all the stages easily or just pick a spot and stay at one for five hours if you like. I do like the BBC Introducing Stage as it always has new talent – ROTW has broadened my horizons, definitely. But my favourite is the St Mary’s Stage as it has traditional choirs mixed with different types of bands, and it provides seats which is good for my age group!
Q: What doors have opened up for you as a result of volunteering? E.g. what social, career or other opportunities have materialised since you began?
A: It’s lovely meeting up with fellow volunteers year after year. We meet socially afterwards and have a post-festival party. A friend’s son came last year to get some volunteering experience on his CV. He was 15 and he loved it. He worked as a runner – running around with messages, moving things, seeing how a large event works and meeting loads of people.
Q: Who are the most memorable people you’ve met through volunteering?
A: We get students to the very elderly helping out with everything from wristbanding to litter picking! I’ve met people from all walks of life – aged 15 to 90. I think it’s what makes the festival – the eclectic range of people who come here. What I love about Rhythms of the World is that you can see a youth choir one minute and a well-known musician like Courtney Pine the next.
Q: What are your top tips for a fantastic festival?!
A: Comfy shoes and a waterproof, and just enjoy! It doesn’t matter what the weather is like, it’s still enjoyable.
Q: What would you say were your “best bits” during your time as a volunteer?
A: Wristbanding the under-5s – all the little ones wanted a wristband. As they held out their arm out for a wristband, we told them there were getting a special one – it had a blank space on it for families to write their mobile number. It helps people to feel that extra bit safe whilst their children are toddling around next to them – but it involves the little ones and makes them part of the festival experience too!
Stuart
Stuart has been volunteering for Rhythms of the World since 2007 and is currently a Senior Steward. He is in his 50s and lives in Hitchin.
Q: Why do you volunteer for Rhythms of the World?
A: It’s the community thing. Without unpaid volunteers, many community events simply couldn’t and wouldn’t happen. It feels good to give something back.
Q: What sort of tasks do you take on whilst volunteering at Rhythms?
A: I’m a Senior Steward, so I organise team of Stewards across the festival site. It’s all about coordination and management…and shouting a lot!!
Q: What doors have opened up for you as a result of volunteering?
A: Being honest, volunteering hasn’t helped me in my day job or anything like that, but that’s not why I joined Rhythms of the World. It has given me lots of excuses to visit the pub though as ROTW meetings always seem to happen down the pub (or perhaps that’s just the ones I’m involved in!)
Q: Who are the most memorable people you’ve met through volunteering?
A: That’s easy! I saw a Siberia female singer one year who was amazing, but the best ever were the Korean drummers who were absolutely outstanding. They were a group, mostly women, and their physical strength plus the rhythmic skill they showed will live with me forever.
Q: What would you say are your “best bits” during your time as a volunteer?
A: Well, apart from the stand out performances of music you’d never hear anywhere else, I remember watching an over-zealous SUV driver getting stuck in the mud one extremely wet year and needing a tractor to pull them out. That was unique fun! But seriously, Rhythms of the World is a great family day out. Watching the kids in the globes on water brought a grin to my face and the tightrope walkers – hoping they’d appear again. Oh yeah, and did I mention the music?!
Q: What are your top tips for surviving the festival?
A: Dress for the weather, sit down and chill every now and again. Wander, drift… dip into things you wouldn’t normally experience.
Q: Why do you think the festival matters to Hitchin, and what does it mean to you?
A: Rhythms of the World offers on the doorstep culture and an experience that you can usually only get at a huge venue with loads of traveling hassle. There’s no tent required here!
