Talking ‘bout a revoLOOtion

by Jules Acton, WaterAid's Senior Press Officer.

Jules Acton gets down to some rock n toilet roll at Glastonbury Festival 2002 and explains how dressing up as toilets and taps helps WaterAid.

"Does this hat look okay, or a bit odd?" I asked. "Jules," replied Libby our Communications Services Manager "you are dressed as a tap and I am dressed as a toilet and you are worried about looking daft?"

Good point. We were raising funds and awareness at Glastonbury Festival along with 46 other staff and volunteers. WaterAid is one of the three main benefiting charities receiving a donation from Michael Eavis and Glastonbury Festival in recognition of our work.

In return we help staff the Glastonbury press office tent and provide nine working examples of our African pit latrines.

The latrines were lovingly tended by a team of stout-hearted volunteers who made sure the WaterAid loos maintained their reputation as the cleanest on the whole site. Festival goers queued for up to half an hour to use a WaterAid VIP (ventilated improved pit) latrine and happily whiled away the waiting time signing the Water Matters petition and swapping sanitation tales.

It is the perfect place for a spot of toilet talk because Glastonbury goers are obsessed with sanitation - who wouldn't be when you have to share your toilet facilities with 140,000 other party people?

Music fans could also learn about our issues at the WaterAid stand. Placed right next to the main stage, festival goers were attracted to the stand by a cup of water and a chat with our volunteers.

This year the stand kept a running total of signatories to the Water Matters petition - we received a staggering 10,654 at the festival. Visitors also learned how to enter our ground-breaking mobile phone texting competition: people 'texted' quiz answers to WaterAid-themed questions in the hope of winning a backstage pass or a pair of wellies signed by headlining band Coldplay.

WaterAid received 55p per entry. We also collected over £4,000 in donations from festival goers.

Our other big aim at the festival was to do some serious public relations work backstage. The volunteers who help out in the Glastonbury press office tent are uniquely placed to chat to journalists. Adding a walking, talking loo into the equation ensured that every interviewer from BBC TV to French Radio made a beeline for WaterAid staff.

The news teams were all fascinated to hear why on earth someone would wander around dressed as tap or a toilet. This light-hearted line was in fact the perfect opener into our serious issues with answers beginning: "We are here with the charity WaterAid to draw attention to the fact that a child dies needlessly every 15 seconds from diseases caused by unsafe water and inadequate sanitation…"

The other advantage of a WaterAid presence backstage at the festival is access to the music stars. We colleted signatures on a toilet seat for a later auction. This was signed by everyone from Donovan to  The Dandy Warhols.

The celebrities also posed for pictures with our tap and loo ladies and obligingly held up 'flush out poverty' signs. We will use these pictures in ongoing publicity campaigns and were particularly useful when we handed in the Water Matters Petition in August.

In all the festival was an enormous success for WaterAid. Huge thanks to all those who took part and for your enormous enthusiasm and energy. We hope you all had a great time while raising funds and awareness for some of the most important issues in the world today.