A field of identical branded tents is one of the best photographs an event will take all year, and one of the worst logistical problems it will have.

Number everything

Print pitch or plot numbers on the fly sheets. Identical tents in a dark field are genuinely disorienting, and the difference between a numbered village and an unnumbered one is measured in how many people are wandering at two in the morning.

Numbers on two sides is better than one. It costs almost nothing at print stage and cannot be added later.

Be honest about waterproofing

2000mm hydrostatic head is fine for a dry summer weekend. For anything that might sit through sustained rain, or that gets used across a season, specify 3000mm and up.

Seams matter as much as fabric. Most leaks start at a stitched seam, so ask whether they are taped — a cheap tent with an impressive fabric number and untaped seams will still let water in.

Plan the pitch grid before the tents arrive

Lay out rows with real walking width between them, not the minimum that fits. Crews need to get through with trolleys, and guests need to find a route in the dark.

Mark the grid before the first tent goes up. Retrofitting order onto a village that has already sprawled is far harder than setting it out first.

Bag them individually and label the bags

Tents arriving loose is a distribution problem. Individually bagged and numbered means a crew can work down a list and a guest can be handed the right one.

It also means the tents that come back can be checked in against the same list, which is how you find out what you actually own before next season.