How to Plan Portable Toilets for a Festival or Concert

Planning portable toilets is one of the most important parts of organising a festival or concert. But how many portable toilets do you actually need for an event?

The answer depends on several factors, including the number of visitors, event duration, food and drink availability, camping areas and VIP zones. The European standard EN 16194 also provides recommendations that can help event organisers determine the appropriate number of portable toilets.

If too few toilets are provided, queues can quickly build up, visitors become frustrated and the facilities become more difficult to keep clean throughout the event.

That is why the number of portable toilets required should always be calculated based on several factors rather than visitor numbers alone.

The expected number of visitors is the most important starting point.

A good approach is to plan sanitation capacity based on the maximum expected attendance rather than only the number of tickets sold in advance.

For free festivals, outdoor concerts and public events, actual attendance can sometimes exceed initial estimates. Building some flexibility into the sanitation plan can therefore help prevent insufficient capacity during peak periods.

A three-hour concert and a three-day festival have very different sanitation requirements.

The longer visitors remain at the venue, the greater the demand on portable toilets.

For multi-day festivals, this usually means not only providing sufficient toilet capacity but also planning more frequent servicing and cleaning to keep the sanitation areas operational throughout the event.

Food and beverage service is another important factor when calculating portable toilet requirements.

When visitors are eating and drinking at an event, toilets are generally used more frequently. For this reason, the European standard EN 16194 recommends higher portable toilet capacity for events where food and beverages are served compared with events without catering.

This should be taken into account when planning sanitation for festivals, concerts and other large public events.

Festivals with camping areas place significantly greater demand on sanitation facilities because visitors remain on site around the clock.

In addition to more portable toilets, festival campsites will typically require portable showers, handwashing stations and additional servicing throughout the event.

Sanitation facilities should also be distributed so that visitors can reach them conveniently from the camping areas.

VIP and hospitality areas should have dedicated sanitation facilities rather than relying entirely on the main public toilet areas.

For events where a higher level of comfort is expected, vacuum toilet systems can be a suitable option. These can include modular vacuum toilet units or VIP vacuum toilet trailers.

Dedicated VIP sanitation improves guest comfort while also reducing demand on the main public sanitation areas.

The European standard EN 16194 provides guidance for determining the minimum recommended number of portable toilets based on factors such as visitor numbers, event duration and the availability of food and beverages.

These recommendations provide event organisers with a useful starting point when planning temporary sanitation.

For detailed recommendations, example calculations and reference tables, read our guide: “How Many Portable Toilets Does EN 16194 Recommend?”

Choosing the right number of portable toilets is an important part of planning any successful festival, concert or outdoor event.

Visitor numbers are only the starting point. Organisers should also consider event duration, food and beverage service, camping areas, VIP zones, site layout and servicing requirements.

OoYes helps event organisers choose suitable temporary sanitation solutions based on the size and specific requirements of each event – from smaller concerts and corporate events to large festivals attended by tens of thousands of people.

Need specific numbers? Read our guide “How Many Portable Toilets Do You Need for a Festival?” for reference tables and example calculations based on the European standard EN 16194.