WELFARE

ION is an all encompassing holiday experience where 3000 like-minded individuals can create new encounters and truly immerse themselves in a secluded paradise. We believe everyone should feel safe throughout their stay and this is something we are firmly determined to protect.

We are constantly working on making our events safer and creating positive environments where everyone can freely be themselves regardless of race, gender or sexuality.

We celebrate cultural diversity and welcome people from far and wide with open arms, as long as they come with positive attitudes. At the same time, we have a zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment, racism, ableism or any kind of discrimination based on a persons religion or sexual orientation, and we will preciously protect wellbeing and safety in our spaces.

Before the event

Before the event, a lot of effort goes into safeguarding and prevention both within the festival area and its surrounding areas. All our staff training incorporates awareness of discrimination and sexual harassment, guidelines on how we expect everyone to be treated, as well as clear policies and procedures for dealing with any potential reports during the festival.

We are full of gratitude that Albanians welcome us with open arms and give us the opportunity to spend a week enjoying our favourite music on their gorgeous beaches, and this is something we don’t take for granted. Enjoying this type of experience in a country that is still opening up to the world and international tourism comes with its challenges. We believe discovering the local culture is an important part of an overseas festival experience and we wouldn't want ION to be an oasis of internationals isolated from all the excellent experiences the local culture has to offer.

Naturally, each culture has its own ways and this is why we don’t limit our training to festival staff. We provide information to our suppliers and the surrounding businesses to raise awareness on topics that are important to us such as discrimination, harassment and sustainability to promote a wider cultural change that will help bring our worlds closer and make the experience more enjoyable for everyone. We will grow our reach and campaign further with each year.

On site measures to tackle harassment

During the event, we have a dedicated welfare team of over 75 trained individuals wearing pink armbands, who work in different areas around the festival and its surroundings, looking after the safety and wellbeing of all the festival-goers. They are readily available to deal with any reports and take action to protect our safe space. If someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, no matter how minor it may seem, please do not stay silent and talk to a member of the pink team or the staff in the welfare tent so we can take immediate action. All reports are followed by the team to locate the person responsible, remove from the event & hand over to police whenever necessary.

On top of this, the festival has an experienced team of UK security who are ready to tackle any reports and remove any persons guilty of harassment from the event. Our security team is in direct contact with the police, who also patrol the interior and exterior of the festival site, to ensure customers are safe while at the event.

There are a number of additional measures in place during the event such as a dedicated welfare area in which attendees can request to speak to a trained member of the welfare team about any harassment they have experienced. Safe space posters are installed in high footfall areas that detail what harassment is, and the ways in which incidents can be reported, plus consent posters that aim to increase people's awareness on what is and is not acceptable and how to determine this both for themselves and others.

Additional plans for 2023

We will always strive to be better at this and we are constantly making improvements to our approach. We are currently reviewing all feedback and reports from our first event and discussing future improvements with experts in this field.

Plans for 2023 will be updated here.