Sex, sweat, and soundtracks: Inside the hookup culture at music festivals

Music festivals promise unforgettable memories, but not all of them happen on stage. From chance encounters under the stars to steamy tent rendezvous, hookup culture is very much alive at events like Burning Man, Coachella, and Glastonbury. To find out just how common festival flings really are (and how people feel about them), we surveyed over 1,000 US and UK festival-goers about their on-site sexual experiences, preferences, and concerns. The results are raw, revealing, and, at times, a little grimy.

Key takeaways

• Nearly 1 in 2 music festival attendees (48%) are open to a weekend festival fling.
• Burning Man is the most sex-charged music festival, with 47% of attendees engaging in sexual activity while there.
• 46% of music festival attendees engaging in sexual activity do so without protection.
• The Weeknd is the most likely to set the mood for a festival hookup, according to 1 in 5 music festival attendees.

Who's hooking up (and catching feelings) at festivals

• 19% of music festival attendees have had a sexual experience while there, including 22% of millennials.
  • UK music festival attendees (25%) are more likely to have had a sexual experience while there than US attendees (18%).
• Nearly 1 in 2 music festival attendees (49%) are willing to have sex with someone that they have met at a music festival.
  • Men (62%) are significantly more likely to feel this way than women (35%).
• Nearly 1 in 2 music festival attendees (48%) are open to a weekend festival fling.
  • Men (59%) are significantly more likely to feel this way than women (36%).
• 13% of music festival attendees have fallen in love at a music festival.
  • Gen Z is the most likely (15%).
• 9% of music festival attendees have started a relationship with someone they met and had sex with at a music festival.
  • Millennials are the most likely (11%).
• Burning Man is the most sex-charged music festival, with 47% of attendees engaging in sexual activity while there, followed by the Download Festival at 42%.

Top artists setting the mood for a festival hookup

1. The Weeknd
2. Rihanna
3. Lana Del Rey
4. SZA
5. Beyoncé
6. Frank Ocean
7. Arctic Monkeys
8. Dua Lipa
9. The Killers
10. Doja Cat

Top genres setting the mood for a festival hookup

1. Rap/Hip-hop
2. R&B/Soul
3. EDM
4. Indie/Alternative
5. Rock

• 1 in 3 music festival attendees feel anxious about their sexual performance at music festivals.
• 41% of music festival attendees have avoided a sexual experience at a music festival due to hygiene concerns.
  • Women are the most likely to (46%).
  • Gen Z is the most likely to (49%).
• 37% of music festival attendees have avoided a sexual experience at a music festival due to STI concerns.
  • Women are the most likely to (42%).
  • Gen Z is the most likely to (45%).
• 78% of music festival attendees feel festival environments don't promote healthy sexual behavior.
• 1 in 10 attendees have felt pressure to have sex at a music festival.

The wild, weird, and not-so-private places people hook up

• Favorite spots to engage in sexual activity at a music festival: the crowd (33%), a tent (28%), and a car (16%).
• 38% of music festival attendees have had sexual experiences with someone they met at the music festival; 16% rekindled passions with an ex.
• Doggy style is the most popular sex position at music festivals (31%).
• Sexual experiences at a festival are overwhelmingly spontaneous (92%).
• 62% of music festival attendees admit substance use has some influence on their decision to hook up.
• 46% of music festival attendees engaging in sexual activity do so without protection.

Methodology

For this study, we surveyed 1,003 Americans and Britons who have attended music festivals in the last five years about their thoughts and experiences with sexual activity while there. Among the respondents, 79% were from the US, while 21% were from the UK.

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