Case Study: Festival Medical Services achieves faster, life‑saving emergency response at festivals with what3words

Festival Medical Services – How 3 simple words help festivals & events run smoothly

Festival Medical Services (FMS) is a UK medical charity that provides event medical teams and training for some of Europe’s largest festivals. Faced with vast, greenfield sites that lack formal addresses, fixed landmarks and reliable mobile coverage, FMS needed a quick, unambiguous way to communicate exact locations during medical incidents to improve response times and safety.

FMS trialled what3words, overlaying a high‑resolution satellite grid onto an iPad‑mounted comms unit so teams could specify and navigate to 3‑word addresses even offline using a compass pointer. The system delivered seconds‑fast, precise locations for responders, vendors and attendees, improving coordination on site and helping FMS better manage emergencies — a tool they plan to adopt routinely to enhance event safety.

Festival Medical Services

Dave Parry

Operations Director