Goldenvoice's massively buzzy Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival took over the Empire Polo Club in the Southern California desert city of Indio this weekend. It was the first of two consecutive weekends booked for the festival grounds, where steal-worthy event ideas of all kinds abounded. Here's how Goldenvoice and its official sponsors incorporated smart ideas for sustainability, logistics, engagement, and guest comfort and convenience.
The art collective Do Lab's colorful stage provided shade over fans and included strategically placed misters and flower-adorned water guns to keep guests cool in the desert heat.
Photo: Watchara Phomicinda
Colorful structures also served as shade covers for guests on the otherwise mainly exposed festival grounds, as heat soared into the 90s.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Sponsor Heineken welcomed its own lineup of acts to its Heineken House activation on the polo fields. The concept was meant to evoke a house party-like environment, so the brand chose musical programming—acts like the rappers Warren G and Too Short—that felt appropriate for the scene.
Photo: Benjamin Lozovsky/BFA
Further underscoring the residential feel, the Heineken installation included a covered porch area, where guests ordered from the bar, lounged on sofas, charged their phones at specially equipped high-top tables, or played branded games like a beanbag toss.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
At the entry to the Heineken House, a foyer lined with a gallery wall—including heritage and festival imagery—added to the residential feel.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
The Terrace dining area on the festival grounds was marked by banners resembling maps or street signs.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Guests charged their phones at enormous cubes set up for just such a purpose. The venue also now has free Wi-Fi areas to help guarantee attendees can connect, locate, and meet up with their friends—something that had previously been a significant obstacle.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Part of Global Inheritance’s sustainability programs on the festival grounds, the Trashed Art of Recycling program asked artists to design bins for the chance to win festival passes.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Global Inheritance helped keep the festival grounds free from bottles and cans by setting up a recycling store that offered fans the chance to exchange them for Coachella merchandise and experiences.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Redemption ranged from a free cold water (10 empties) to an instant V.I.P. upgrade (1,200).
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Oversize art pieces doubled as meeting points for guests amid the sprawling grounds.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
As part of H&M’s seventh year as an official festival sponsor, the brand set up its “Reborn” activation to resemble a colorful desert landscape where guests interacted with immersive video sets, creating video content ready for social sharing. For the second year, the H&M tent also had a pop-up shop where festivalgoers could buy the collection, known as H&M Loves Coachella.
Photo: Mike Windle/Getty Images for H&M
One section of the 40- by 80-foot tent included a room with a 360-degree desert scene and green screen backdrop where guests interacted with lighting, video content, live processing, and wind movement in multiple video settings to create a shareable video.
Photo: Mike Windle/Getty Images for H&M
A tented section for guests ages 21 and older serving beer felt like an intimate garden despite its size, covered in string lights and surrounded by residential-like fencing.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
A street art-like mural decorated the side of the massive merchandise tent, beckoning festival-goers to pose for photos against the colorful backdrop.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Because the festival grounds sprawl across such a massive footprint, guests found their way back to cars in surrounding parking lots by following long pathways easily recognized by color. (For reference, a walk back to the Yellow region to the official Uber lot took about 45 minutes from the main stage.)
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
