Whilst the rest of Face Your Elephant were off taking to the fine people of Market Harborough at Shambala Festival, De Montfort University researcher Ben Marchini was at Leeds Festival as part of his PhD project at the Institute for Energy and Sustainable Development. Ben is looking at Festivals and Sustainability, particularly the energy of the stages and facilities onsite.

Ben logged the current flowing through the main stage soundsystems, lighting rigs and video screens in order to find out electricity consumption varies throughout the weekend and how it may be improved. In addition to this work with the main stage, Ben spoke with traders throughout the festival to find out how they felt about sustainability and working at festivals.