One-minute summary
- Festival tickets are bought months in advance and, with few exceptions, aren’t refundable.
- The 14-day period for returning goods bought online doesn’t apply to tickets for a fixed date.
- Try transferring the ticket to another name or using the official resale — and watch out for scam offers.
- A cancelled festival is a matter for the organiser. If you can’t go — illness, injury, a resit exam — cancellation insurance helps.
- Insuring a CZK 4,880 festival pass costs CZK 439 and pays back CZK 4,392.
Why festival tickets are bought so early
Festivals sell tickets in waves: the cheapest early-bird tickets right after the previous year’s festival ends, then gradually more expensive ones. If you wait, you pay more — or don’t get a ticket at all. So six months or more often pass between buying and the festival. And in that time, anything can happen: an illness, a broken leg, a resit exam right on the festival weekend.
Will the organiser refund you?
Usually not. Under festivals’ terms and conditions, tickets are usually non-refundable, and the 14-day period for withdrawing from an online purchase doesn’t apply to tickets for a fixed date. But you do have a few options:
- Transfer to another name. Many festivals allow it, sometimes for a fee and only until a certain date.
- Official resale. Some festivals and ticket sellers have their own marketplace where you can sell your ticket safely.
- Selling to people you know. The simplest option, but only recommend verified channels to buyers — scam “resales” on social media are common.
If the organiser cancels the festival
If the organiser cancels or postpones the festival, they handle refunds — under their terms and the law. Cancellation insurance doesn’t help here, because it isn’t a situation where you can’t go. Nor does it cover bad weather: as long as the festival goes ahead, not going is your decision.
When cancellation insurance helps
The insurance reimburses the ticket price after deducting the 10% excess if you can’t go to the festival for a reason listed in the policy terms, for example:
- illness or injury — tonsillitis a week before the festival, a leg in a cast after a casual football game with friends,
- a resit exam — the faculty sets the resit right on the festival weekend or in the week after it,
- illness, injury or death in the family or of a friend you bought the tickets with,
- dismissal by your employer that you didn’t expect when you bought the ticket,
- stolen documents in the last 7 days before you leave for a festival abroad.
Illness, injury and death are covered even if they arise up to 180 days before the festival; other reasons must arise no more than 30 days before. You can insure a ticket bought anywhere — from the organiser, at a box office or on the festival website. You’ll find all 14 covered reasons on the what the insurance covers page.
What festival ticket insurance costs
| Ticket | Price | Premium | Paid back if you cancel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day ticket | CZK 1,290 | CZK 116 | CZK 1,161 |
| Early-bird pass | CZK 2,990 | CZK 269 | CZK 2,691 |
| 3-day festival pass | CZK 4,880 | CZK 439 | CZK 4,392 |
| VIP pass | CZK 8,900 | CZK 801 | CZK 8,010 |
It’s mainly worth insuring more expensive passes and tickets bought well in advance. If you’re buying several tickets for a group, you can insure them in one order — enter the total price and all the people.
Camping, accommodation and travel
For festivals abroad, the ticket is only part of the cost. You can insure non-refundable accommodation, a package trip or flights to the festival separately — in the order, choose accommodation, package holiday or flights.
We’ll email you a ticket insurance quote quickly: get a ticket insurance quote.
Related
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. The wording of the policy terms and your seller’s terms is what counts. The example scenarios are illustrative.