Download Festival 2023
Delivering Pee-Equality at Scale for Rock Fans
THE FULL STORY
THE STORY SNAPSHOT
- Event: Download Festival
- Location & year: Donington Park, 2023
- Audience size / footfall: 100,000
PEEQUAL units installed:
- 60
Key outcomes:
- Significantly reduced queuing times near main stages
- High user satisfaction and positive on-site feedback
- Rapid installation enabled by flat-pack design
- Strong engagement and awareness among first-time users
THE PROBLEM:
As one of the first major festivals of the 2023 season, Download Festival faced intense peak-time demand around its main stages, particularly during headline sets. Traditional portable toilets in these high-footfall areas often resulted in long queues, meaning festivalgoers were forced to choose between queuing or missing live performances.
For women and AFAB people, these queues were longer and more disruptive, reinforcing long-standing inequalities in event toileting provision. With large crowds gathering around the Opus and Apex stages, existing infrastructure struggled to provide fast, fair access at critical moments.
Download needed a solution that could:
- Reduce queues in high-density areas
- Improve equality of access to toilets
- Operate efficiently within a complex festival environment
“Business as usual” portable toilets were not delivering on speed, equality, or experience.
WHY PEEQUAL?
BBy the time of Download Festival 2023, PEEQUAL already had experience delivering at major UK festivals, including Glastonbury 2022. This demonstrated the team’s ability to operate at scale and perform reliably in demanding live event environments.
PEEQUAL was chosen because it offered:
- A proven pee-equality solution designed specifically for women and AFAB people
- High-throughput infrastructure that dramatically reduces queue times
- A waterless, chemical-free system aligned with sustainability goals
- An infrastructure-led approach that improves access without requiring behaviour change
Despite being PEEQUAL’s first appearance at Download, festival crew and volunteers actively supported the rollout, helping to introduce first-time users to the system on site.
“Absolutely love them. After 40 years of festival going – this is it! I went home yesterday and all I could talk about was PEEQUAL! None of the bands, just PEEQUAL!
Jane Healy, Head of Sanitation, Glastonbury Festival
THE SOLUTION
PEEQUAL delivered 60 flat-pack urinal units, all assembled on site in 1-2 days: demonstrating the speed and practicality of the system at the start of a busy festival season.
All units were installed together in a single, high-impact location:
- Positioned next to the Opus Stage
- Within clear sight of the Apex Stage
This placement ensured fast, convenient access to toilets at peak times, allowing festivalgoers to spend less time queuing and more time enjoying live performances. The flat-pack design also supported efficient transport and streamlined on-site logistics.
THE IMPACT & RESULTS
While formal usage data was not captured at Download 2023, the real-world impact of PEEQUAL was unmistakable — both operationally and in user response.
Operational benefits
- Significantly reduced queues compared to nearby portable toilets, particularly during peak sets
- Faster throughput near the Opus and Apex stages, allowing festivalgoers to return quickly to live performances
Smooth operation despite this being PEEQUAL’s first year at Download
What people had to say
Feedback from festivalgoers was overwhelmingly positive, with many describing PEEQUAL as a standout feature of the event:
READY TO IMPROVE THE EXPERIENCE FOR WOMEN AND AFAB PEOPLE AT YOUR EVENT?
Get in touch to see how PEEQUAL can work for your site.
