Festival Guidelines

The Montreux Jazz Festival is a place for sharing and celebrating music without discrimination or judgement. Together, we have the power to make the Festival a caring, pleasant, accessible, safe and respectful place for everyone. We’re counting on you to make it a great festival!

No disrespectful, violent, racist, xenophobic, sexist, ableist, homophobic or transphobic comments or behaviour will be tolerated by the Festival.

You can download the full Festival charter below:

Festival Guidelines

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Urban mediation

The fruit of a collaboration between the Jazz Festival and the Commune de Montreux (social affairs, families and youth department), the urban mediation project aims as in 2018 at two objectives in particular:

1. Reduce the risks associated with welcoming young people to festive events (with the idea of taking care
   to look after them and encourage solidarity between peers);
2. Calming the public space and reducing infra-penal problems (in order to improve cohabitation between different audiences, as well as the overall Festival experience and limit nuisance in the city).

To achieve this, every day, pairs of social workers and “big brothers” and “big sisters” will go out to meet (young) festival-goers, create links and dispense a benevolent message to reduce the risks associated with inappropriate behavior and abusive consumption. The urban mediation team will be mobile, visible, attentive and ready to listen. In terms of risk reduction, the aim is to limit certain negative consequences without exerting a moral influence on the relationship established with young people, to leave room for celebration and to support their first festival experiences.

Angela

Do you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation? In any of the Festival bars, ask for Angela and our staff will help you get out of it. If you have a problem, you can also contact the Securitas officers on site and the security staff at the entrances to the night-time venues.

Angela

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Prev’spot

Prev’ Spot is an area of the Festival located on the lakeside promenade that provides a meet-up place and a forum for open discussions on the subject of prevention. This free zone aims to provide a pleasant day for all and is hosted by professionals involved with the following associations. These specialists are all permanently in touch with the infirmary, whose staff are also all professionals.

• Be My Angel (also present at the Police Stand) is an initiative that underlines the dangers of drink driving. Its “Be My Angel” scheme encourages festival-goers to designate an “angel” –  a driver who agrees not to drink any alcohol throughout the evening and drives his/her friends home.
• NightLife Vaud on Fridays and Saturdays: NightLife Vaud is a Vaud-based prevention and harm reduction project focusing on the themes of sexual health and drug and alcohol consumption. The action takes place at Prev’Spot, the Festival’s harm reduction center, located down rue Emery.
• Drug Checking, on Fridays and Saturdays: drug checking is part of the harm reduction offer and is aimed at users of psychoactive substances. Drug checking includes a chemical analysis of the substance and an individual consultation. The aim of drug checking is to give drug users access to prevention and harm reduction services. Drug Checking takes place at the Prev’Spot stand.
• Prev’ Spot also works closely with HES-SO (Sion, Wallis). Nursing students work on various community health projects thematically linked to the Festival, and they design a prevention project that they implement on site during the Festival.

Above all, Prev’ Spot is a place of relaxation, exchange and discussion in the heart of a festive environment.

FestiPlus Guidelines

The Festival has signed up to the FestiPlus prevention charter and is therefore committed to improving the well-being of the public, by offering access to quality services for the prevention of risks linked to alcohol abuse and other psychotropic substances.

Accessibility

Providing optimal access for all to our spaces is one of our top priorities. Our guests with disabilities will find a dedicated checkpoint onsite. Additionally, in cooperation with Procap Suisse, the Festival organizes free events designed to make music more accessible.