Hiring festival crew in London
Need festival crew for an event around London? CrewPool is a live list of people who do exactly this - setting up and breaking down festival sites - humping kit, building, fetching, striking - across London and the South East. Search free, sorted by distance from your site postcode. The list covers every crew type a festival hirer needs: build and break labour, bar staff, stewards, catering crew, litter and recycling teams, crew chiefs and production supervisors. Whether you are staffing a 500-person private event or a 50,000-capacity ticketed festival, the search works the same way - put in your site postcode, pick the crew type, and see who is nearest and confirmed free for your dates.
You see what each person has done before versus what they are willing to try, how far they will travel, their tickets and their availability. Unlock the ones you want and ring them direct. No agency in the middle, which is why the same worker costs you less here. A festival staffing agency in London typically charges 30-40% on top of the worker's day rate - on a 20-crew weekend at £140/day that is £1,680-£2,240 in fees you do not pay when you hire direct. Most London festival hirers use CrewPool alongside their regular contractors: they book their usual riggers and specialists through trade contacts, then fill remaining build labour, stewarding and bar positions through the CrewPool list in the weeks before the event.
Events that hire festival crew near London
London and London & the South East run a packed event calendar - Notting Hill Carnival (August), BST Hyde Park (June) and All Points East (August) and more all need festival crew on the build, through the show and on the strike. Most crew are booked by the festival or by the contractors supplying the bars, stages, marquees, power and fencing, usually in the weeks before. CrewPool is where you find them direct.
Not sure what to budget? See typical UK event crew day rates and what it costs to hire event crew before you post.
Crew for festivals in London - how it works
- Post the brief free: name the event, dates, site location (postcode or venue) and which crew types you need
- CrewPool contacts the nearest available crew across London and the South East who are confirmed free for your dates
- You get direct contact details for whoever responds - ring them, agree pay, done
- No agency, no markup, no minimum crew count
Festival staffing in London - what you will pay
Real rates, agreed direct with the worker. No agency markup on top.
A festival staffing agency in London typically adds 30-40% on top of these rates. On a 100-crew weekend at £130/day that is £39,000-£52,000 in agency fees alone. CrewPool charges nothing on top of the rate you agree direct with the worker.
Festival staff hire in London - the circuit
London's festival circuit is one of the UK's busiest, running from May through to October. Events that hire festival crew through London and the South East:
- BST Hyde Park (June, multiple weekends, ~65,000 capacity per day) - bar staff, stewards, build and break crew
- All Points East at Victoria Park (August bank holiday weekend, 50,000 capacity) - build crew, on-event bar and stewarding crew
- Wireless Festival at Crystal Palace Park (July, 50,000 capacity) - stewards, bar staff, catering crew
- Notting Hill Carnival (August bank holiday, up to 1 million over 2 days) - 600+ stewards, litter and recycling crew, safety crew
- Field Day at Trent Country Park (August, 15,000 capacity) - bar, stewarding, catering
- The London arena circuit (O2 Arena 20,000 cap, Wembley Arena 12,500, Roundhouse 3,300, Alexandra Palace 10,000) runs year-round, with production crew hired per show