PROMOTED CONTENT
responsible for delivering the job already understand the pace, scale and demands of the event.
“ THE PEOPLE DELIVERING THE EVENT ON THE GROUND NEED TO BE INVOLVED FROM THE VERY START. YOU CAN’ T PLAN AN OPERATION OF THIS SCALE FROM AN OFFICE AND SIMPLY HAND IT OVER. OUR MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS ARE INVOLVED MONTHS IN ADVANCE, SO BY THE TIME WE ARRIVE ON SITE, THEY KNOW THE PLAN, THEY KNOW THE SITE AND THEY KNOW WHAT IS EXPECTED.”
Aisling Ryan, CEO, Ryans Cleaning
Boomtown is one of the UK’ s largest immersive music and theatre festivals, transforming the Matterley Estate near Winchester into a temporary city of districts, stages, streets and hidden venues each summer.
When Ryans Cleaning first took on the contract in 2023, Boomtown had a capacity of around 66,000. By 2026, all 76,999 tickets for the festival had sold out.
For Ryans Cleaning, however, the four live festival days are only one part of the job. The operation runs for around 50 days on site, with planning beginning approximately six months before the first crew arrives.
PLANNING STARTS MONTHS IN ADVANCE
The core event team is identified at the beginning of the planning process, allowing the managers and supervisors who will ultimately deliver the job on site to be involved from the outset.
Equipment, vehicles and staff accommodation are booked five to six months ahead, with the main operational plan finalised at least six weeks before the first team arrives.
Many of the same core crew have worked on Boomtown since Ryans Cleaning first took on the contract in 2023. That continuity brings valuable site knowledge and means the people
BUILDING THE OPERATION
The first crew arrives on site in mid- July and begins by setting up the Ryans Cleaning compound.
This includes staff accommodation, shower and welfare units, a staff break marquee, compost toilets, a stock unit, office and kitchen facilities. A small team remains on site each day during the build, placing bins, managing bulky waste, maintaining welfare areas and cleaning accommodation used by production and operations teams.
As the festival approaches, the team grows steadily.
At peak, approximately 150 Ryans Cleaning crew are working across the operation, with 34 shifts covering around 50 locations on a live day.
Across the full 50-day operation, the team logs more than 10,000 working hours and places approximately 2,000 bins across the 1,250-acre site
ONE OPERATION ON THE GROUND
Ryans Cleaning is the lead contractor for the overall cleaning and waste operation, working alongside Waste Baling Machines on the on-site sorting process and Collards for skips, bins, vehicles and the removal of waste from site.
Waste collected across the festival is brought to the sorting area, where Ryans Cleaning staff work alongside Waste Baling Machines to separate materials
50 accessaa. co. uk