Keeping Festivals Moving: The Importance of Temporary Pedestrian Bridges

Large-scale festivals and events attract thousands of attendees, creating a major challenge for crowd management. Without well-planned pedestrian flow solutions, bottlenecks can form, causing delays, safety risks, and a poor visitor experience.

At Mitchell Bridges, we specialise in temporary pedestrian bridges that keep festivalgoers moving smoothly and safely. One of our standout projects is the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where we have provided multiple pedestrian bridges for years—including a major highlight structure spanning the racetrack.

The Challenge: Managing Foot Traffic at Large-Scale Events

Events like Goodwood Festival of Speed see over 200,000 attendees across a weekend, with 100,000 visitors per day. With such high footfall, ensuring efficient ingress, circulation, and egress is essential.

Key Considerations for Festival Footbridges:

✔ Managing peak-time entry and exit – preventing dangerous crowd surges
✔ Minimising disruption to event activities – ensuring pedestrian flow without obstructing key areas
✔ Enhancing visitor experience – allowing seamless movement across large venues
✔ Ensuring safety and compliance – meeting all UK event and structural regulations

At Goodwood, we install seven bridges in three locations on site, including the main highlight structure spanning the racetrack—an impressive assembly of four adjacent bridges working together to handle peak pedestrian movement.

Goodwood Festival of Speed: A Case Study in Crowd Flow Management

Our bridges at Goodwood Festival of Speed are operational for four weeks, handling tens of thousands of attendees every day. Here’s how we designed and managed pedestrian movement:

1. Ingress Strategy: Handling the Morning Rush

• All seven  bridges were used in the morning to allow a high volume of festivalgoers to enter smoothly.
• This prevented bottlenecks and ensured quick access to the event areas.

2. Daytime Flow: Controlled Movement Throughout the Event

• To maintain a balanced traffic flow, Goodwood operated the bridges in a 2-in, 2-out system.
• This allowed festivalgoers to move freely between different areas without congestion.

3. Egress Strategy: Managing the Evening Exit

• At the end of the event day, all seven bridges were dedicated to outbound movement, ensuring fast and safe exits.
• This prevented large crowd build-ups and reduced pressure on event staff.

Custom Temporary Bridge Solutions at Goodwood

1. The Main Highlight Bridge: A Landmark Structure

• Spans the racetrack, providing a vital connection point.
• Fully clad, creating a seamless, visually impressive design.
• Designed to handle large volumes of pedestrian traffic efficiently.

2. The Rally Bridge: Supporting High-Flow Areas

• Installed at a critical access point to manage flow in and out of the rally zone.
• Designed for quick assembly and disassembly to fit within event timelines.

3. The VIP Bridge: A Premium Experience

• Completely clad for a sleek, high-end finish.
• Provides exclusive, unrestricted access for VIP ticket holders.

In addition to the bridge structures, we also handled ancillary elements that played a crucial role in both safety and aesthetics:
✅ Cladding and framework to create a polished look.
✅ Netting and internal finishes (Tilde net to obscure visibility for a solid structure effect).
✅ Drop curtains to hide internal framework for a premium visual appearance.

Why Temporary Pedestrian Bridges Are Essential for Festivals

The success of large-scale events depends on efficient crowd management. Without strategic pedestrian flow solutions, congestion and safety risks can escalate. Our temporary festival bridges offer:

✔ Safe, structured crowd control
✔ Flexible, modular designs tailored to venue layouts
✔ Fast installation and dismantling for minimal disruption
✔ Aesthetic options to enhance the festival environment

With decades of experience, Mitchell Bridges provides industry-leading pedestrian bridge solutions for music festivals, motorsport events, and cultural gatherings.

Plan Your Festival Bridges with Mitchell Bridges

Looking for expert temporary pedestrian bridges for your next festival or event? We offer:
✅ Bespoke designs tailored to your event needs
✅ Fully compliant, safety-assured structures
✅ Proven success at major UK festivals like Goodwood

📞Get in touch with Mitchell Bridges today to discuss how we can support your event.

‍