Hellfest 2025: a lesson in festive self-management
- 24/06/2025
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Yes, we know: it’s not techno. But sometimes you have to put musical style aside and simply observe how an event manages to welcome 280,000 people in four days, without becoming disorganized or dehumanized. And that’s exactly what Hellfest 2025 offers.
Fluid organization. Meticulous logistics. A respectful atmosphere. A model of cohesion and commitment. A festival where the collective takes precedence over the ego, where benevolence reigns, and where everyone contributes to the overall balance.
Hellfest 2025 at the heart of a debate
Recently, some media outlets – including in the electro sphere – pointed the finger at Hellfest for programming the drummer of a band convicted over thirty years ago, a sentence long since served.
One name among 250 bands, which represents a total of some 1,000 artists (a band has an average of 4 or 5 members).
Obviously, we don’t condone the serious acts committed by certain artists. It would be irresponsible to minimize them. But it’s just as important to keep a clear head and a fair vision of what Hellfest is today: an event that acts seriously, frames its choices, takes its responsibilities, and puts respect and safety for festival-goers at the heart of its arrangements.
This affair, reported by Ouest-France, above all reflects the contradictions of a society where vices and excesses are everywhere – even in our own music scenes.
Because in the world of electronic music, too, there’s no shortage of things going wrong. It would be wrong to point the finger at one festival without recognizing that similar problems cut across all musical cultures. How many DJs paid a fortune come on stage completely stoned, unable to hold down a set without the help of the magic button? #AutoSyncDJ
How many cases of sexual violence have been hushed up in dressing rooms or swept under the carpet so as not to “spoil the mood”?
In spite of this, the artists present at Hellfest take advantage of their time on stage to pass on strong messages: the fight against discrimination, animal protection, defense of the environment, etc. And the festival is not standing idly by. It has set up the HellCare prevention and reporting system, a unique device with a dedicated application and a team of trained volunteers, to prevent, intervene and support cases of sexist and sexual violence, situations of mental distress, acts of discrimination or harassment.
Chaos, hell? not at all .
280,000 people gathered for 4 days.
No fights. No riots. No panic.
A massive, inter-generational audience, often in the middle of a hot summer, and yet: not a single major incident to report.
Yes, there were 22 evacuations and 2,600 emergency calls, mainly due to the heatwave… and a few over-enthusiastic pogos. But let’s talk about pogos. We chatted with some festival-goers who love these pogos, which can sometimes get a bit rough, and who proudly leave with a few bruises as souvenirs of their time in hell.
And when someone falls into a moshpit? Everyone stops dead in their tracks to pick them up. The instinct to protect is immediate.
In truth, it’s organized chaos. A collective outlet that, behind all appearances, remains safe. Yes, an ankle may be twisted, but no one will hurt you on purpose. It’s a joyous melee between friends and strangers alike, where solidarity always wins out.
We’ve also heard that crowdsurfing can be risky for women. However, Malory was keen to put it to the test for you: not a single inappropriate gesture. Not a thing.
There may be the occasional drunken reveler who crosses the line, but in the vast majority of cases, a simple “no” is enough to set things straight. Even when tipsy, people are good listeners.
And what about the police forces on site? They confirmed without hesitation that Hellfest is one of the quietest festivals they’ve ever supervised.
One of them even described the festival-goers as “big, adorable teddy bears”. You couldn’t have said it better yourself.
Yet we’re talking about extreme conditions here: record heat, long queues, liters of sweat, and hours of intensive moshpit.
And despite everything… the site and the good atmosphere held up.
Better than in 2024, when there were 40 evacuations and 24,000 infirmary visits.
Yes, you read that right.
A 90% drop.
No, they didn’t change the weather – and yet it was a heat record. In 2025, the mercury rose to 36°C at the height of the weekend, making the feat even more impressive.
It’s simply that the audience listened, respected the instructions and adapted.
Because Hellfest isn’t just a festival.
It’s a close-knit, caring and incredibly respectful community.
Comparison with other scenes
Hellfest shares with some festivals and free parties a culture of self-management, where the community plays a central role in the smooth running of the event. Where Hellfest manages to maintain a remarkable balance, other scenes such as Techno encounter more difficulties – not always because of the organization, but often because of a lack of individual regulation among the festival-goers themselves.
The issue of substance use is a good illustration of this. It’s not so much the use itself that poses a problem, but the absence of personal limits. When people take one drug after another in the belief that they can “hold out”, or simply as part of a group, the risk quickly goes beyond the individual. In such cases, the general atmosphere, safety, the festival’s image and other festival-goers suffer.
Faced with this situation, an escalation of restrictions or systematic controls does not necessarily provide a lasting solution. Worse still, it can damage the relationship of trust between festival-goers and organizers. The alternative seems to lie in a form of collective maturity, through education, dialogue and a natural rather than imposed sense of responsibility.
Hellfest achieves this balance, thanks in part to an older, more experienced audience than at other events. This factor contributes to a generally calmer atmosphere, where everyone seems more aware of their limits. There’s a sense of security, and this is perhaps the true marker of a successful festival: offering a festive setting where you can come with your friends, children or parents, without fear of crossing an invisible line.
A benchmark for all festivals?
While some festivals struggle to manage 2,000 people, Hellfest manages 280,000 with mastery. This is no accident. It’s the result of years of work, assumed deficits, refusal of public subsidies and sheer determination.
Today, the entire region benefits from this success: the local economy, small producers, indirect jobs.
Hellfest has proved that it’s possible to create a major event without selling your soul to the devil.
You want to organize a festival? Want to know what it’s like to have a responsible audience? Go to Hellfest. Watch and take notes.
In conclusion
Hellfest 2025 isn’t just a musical success: it’s a lesson in organization, respect and collective responsibility. No matter which scene we come from, we all have something to learn from this edition. The festival can be intense, free, popular… and well managed.
And that, frankly, feels good.
And of course, we didn’t leave without souvenirs! We’ve captured it all on video: our on-the-spot discoveries, our on-the-spot impressions, and a few questions we asked festival-goers to get their opinions. The video is coming soon to our YouTube channel… stay tuned, it’s worth the detour.
Eric, le capitaine du navire TechnoMag, est développeur web, consultant SEO, rédacteur de metier, et surtout fanatique de musique ! Depuis l’enfance, il est attiré par les basses et les kicks, passant des heures à écouter et jouer sur machines pour le plaisir, avec son frère et ses amis, depuis plus de dix ans. Globe-trotteur, il a exploré des free parties sauvages et illégales jusqu’aux plus grands festivals internationaux. Dans son passé, il a aussi été VJ et impliqué dans l’organisation de soirées pas toujours vraiment autorisées. Aujourd’hui, il aime capturer l’énergie des événements pour la retranscrire aux autres, que ce soit derrière l’appareil photo, la caméra, ou en rédigeant un article. Avec quelques missions bénévoles à son actif et une association toute neuve, il rêve d’un lieu autonome où chacun pourrait balancer son set sans craindre de perdre son matos.
