The Heart of Paléo is Powered by Volunteers

When people think of Paléo, they usually picture the big moments. The headline acts. The crowds. The lights and music. The long queues for food that somehow still feel worth it.

What’s easier to miss is everything happening behind the scenes. Because Paléo does not run on music alone. It runs on people.

Paléo @Anne Colliard

Each year, the festival is powered by nearly 5,500 volunteers, with 47 bars, 136 food stands, more than 250 concerts and shows, and around 250,000 festivalgoers across six days and nights. And for many of those volunteers, it is not just a shift. It is an annual ritual.

More Than a Beer Stand

I spoke to one volunteer, Tom Buck from the FC Gingins Bar du Midi tent last year, who has been helping at Paléo for around five or six years. For him, it started with something simple, it was already part of his local life. He grew up knowing his football club had a stand at the festival. Then one year, he and some teammates decided to sign up together. They’ve been doing it ever since.

That sense of local continuity is common among volunteers.

At Paléo, many of the bars are run by associations, and the festival pays a percentage of the profits back to those local groups. That means the hours spent serving drinks help support sports clubs, youth activities and other community organisations long after the festival ends.

What Volunteering at a Bar Actually Looks Like

From the outside, it can look like volunteers are simply pouring beers and having a good time. In reality, there is a lot more going on. There are the people at the taps, of course. But there are also runners keeping fridges stocked, volunteers collecting and sorting glasses, teams handling logistics, people guiding visitors, helping backstage, managing information points, supporting waste sorting, and making sure the whole site keeps moving.

Paléo says roles and time commitments vary by sector, with some volunteer positions lasting from 8 days to 7 weeks, while festival-week shifts are typically at least 5 to 6 hours a day.

At the FC Gingins stand alone, the team served 1,900 litres of beer on the Tuesday night last year. That number says a lot about the rhythm of the week.

There is preparation before the rush after a major set on the Grand Scène. Refilling fridges. Stacking cups. Watching the clock. Then suddenly, the crowd arrives all at once.

It is part choreography, part chaos.

Themes, Costumes and Controlled Madness

One of the nicest details that came out of our chat was how much effort goes into the mood behind the bar. Each night has a theme, set by the team leaders. Costumes come out. Music plays when concerts aren’t on. Different bars compete with each other. Volunteers get into character and festivalgoers notice and enjoy this part too.

It is still work, especially later in the night, but there is something very Paléo about making even the hard work feel playful.

A Different Kind of Festival Experience

Volunteering at Paléo seems to create its own time zone. You work late. Sometimes very late.

There’s a staff and volunteer after-party once the concerts are over. You head home around six or seven in the morning while others are getting up for work. Breakfast shifts to mid-afternoon. For one week, normal life is suspended. And in that strange little bubble, people reconnect.

Tom described it as a chance to press pause on the year and step away from everyday life and work. To catch up with people from the area. Some are close friends. Others are people you only see at Paléo. You spend an hour together behind the bar and somehow, that’s enough to pick things back up.

That fits with how Paléo describes its volunteer culture too. Built on friendship, trust and a strong sense of belonging.

Volunteer Loyalty

That may be one reason so many volunteers come back. Paléo’s own press material says volunteer loyalty is a big part of the festival’s identity, and that a large share return year after year. The average volunteer age is 33.34, and 34% come from the Nyon district, with another 23% from France, 13% from Geneva, 11% from Lausanne and 18% from elsewhere in Switzerland. So yes, it is local. But it reaches well beyond Nyon.

Being a volunteer does come with a few practical perks too; access to the festival, meals, drinks, and a handful of extras along the way. But that’s not really why people do it. It’s the experience of being part of something at scale. Seeing what happens behind the scenes. Finding your place within a system that only works because thousands of people show up and do their part.

There are dozens of roles across the site. From bar service and logistics to welcoming the public or artists, managing access, supporting sustainability efforts, or even helping build and dismantle the festival itself. Some roles run just during the week of Paléo, others start weeks before and continue after. Which means there’s usually something that fits everyone - if you're there for the full experience or just a part of it.

Not Always Easy to Recruit

Of course, none of this happens automatically. Behind the scenes, teams are constantly recruiting and bringing in new volunteers. Paléo may be one of the most sought-after tickets of the summer, but volunteering still requires time, energy and a real commitment. The festival says many sectors still recruit mainly through word of mouth, though some also publish openings on the volunteer page from around the end of April. Volunteers need to be at least 18, speak and understand French, be fully available for the period required by their sector, and have valid Swiss health insurance.

That partly explains why so many teams begin by looking close to home first. Sports teams. Friends. Friends of friends. People who already understand that this is not just about getting a festival wristband. It is about showing up for a group.

The Community Spirit is Part of the Sustainability Story

Paléo’s volunteer culture also sits inside a bigger story about how the festival sees itself.

The festival has been certified as a Greener Festival and received the Community Action Award in 2025 for the social impact of its sustainability policy and its strong ties to local associations and community life.

It also states that it has used 100% green energy since 2006, that 64% of festival waste is recycled thanks to 341 volunteers, and that all bars are run by local associations who receive a share of the profits. It also prepares around 50,000 meals each year for its roughly 5,500 volunteers, with an increased focus on seasonal and regional products. So the volunteer story is not a side note. It is part of the structure of the festival itself.

You might not always notice them, but they’re part of every step of the experience.

From arrival to the journey home, volunteers are what keep Paléo moving. Managing the crowds, helping people navigate transport and parking, answering questions, and keeping everything flowing in between. Here’s to the people behind it all!