Defibrillators at festivals and outdoor events

A festival site or a sports gathering concentrates, over a few hours, a number of people far above the venue's usual attendance. Heat, physical effort, alcohol consumption and crowding create conditions favourable to cardiac events, including among young people who did not consider themselves at risk.

In a crowd, rescuers often take longer to locate a victim and reach them than in an ordinary urban setting. Every minute counts: this is exactly the delay a defibrillator placed on site can shorten while waiting for professional emergency services to arrive. The larger the site, campground, exhibition park, racecourse, the more this immediate proximity weighs on the outcome of the intervention.

A building that receives the public year round falls into a precise category, with an equipment timeline set by law 2018-527 (loi 2018-527) and its implementing decree 2018-1186 (décret 2018-1186): categories 1 to 3 since 2020, category 4 since 2021, part of category 5 since 2022. A site taken over for the duration of an event, a field turned into a stage or a car park used as a reception area, does not always fit the same classification grid.

This grey area does not release the organiser from responsibility. If someone suffers a cardiac emergency during the event, it is the resources actually present on site that make the difference, not the administrative category of the land. More and more organisers therefore include a defibrillator alongside first aid posts, regardless of any strict obligation.

For mobile use, a lightweight automated external defibrillator, carried in a case rather than fixed inside a wall cabinet, suits a site that is assembled and dismantled within a few days. It can travel with the central first aid post or be spread across several points depending on the size of the site.

For an organiser who repeats the same event every year, rental, available from 50 euros excl. VAT per month with maintenance included, avoids tying up a budget on a device used only a few days a year. For an organisation that runs gatherings all year round, buying remains worthwhile, with a 5 year warranty and delivery within 2 to 5 working days once the quote is confirmed, usually issued within 24 hours.

The defibrillator must stay visible and accessible at all times, with the same signage as in a fixed establishment, in line with the French order of 29 November 2018 (arrêté du 29 novembre 2018). On a large site, temporary signposting from the busiest areas, stage, refreshment stand, main entrance, helps volunteers and the public spot it quickly.

In France, anyone can use an automated external defibrillator, trained or not, as the device guides the user by voice at every step. A volunteer team or security service that has completed basic first aid training still saves precious time, in particular to start chest compressions before the device is even switched on. A clearly identified assembly point set up in advance also makes it easier to raise the alert when several posts rotate across a full day.

A defibrillator that travels from one event to another follows the same upkeep rules as a fixed unit: electrode pads renewed every 2 to 5 years, battery every 3 to 5 years, and a self test to check before each new outing. The organiser or the provider handling maintenance remains responsible for it working correctly, under article R. 5212-25 of the French public health code (article R. 5212-25 du Code de la santé publique).

Registration in the GéoDAE national directory, mandatory for a permanently installed defibrillator, does not apply in the same way to a strictly mobile unit. As soon as a site hosts the device on a recurring basis, a club's home ground, a stadium, a hall used for several events a year, registering it at that address becomes worthwhile so it appears in nearby emergency searches. Between outings, storage at a stable temperature extends the life of the battery and electrode pads.