It seem the future is well and truly here, with Splendour In The Grass today announcing that they’ll be ditching the standard paper festival wristband this year in favour of RFID wireless identification microchips.
The chips will allow punters easier access to the festival and can also connect to social media, enabling festivalgoers to check in and update their Facebook accounts if they choose to opt in.
Music streaming service Deezer will also be giving each RFID user the opportunity to relive their Splendour experience by emailing customised playlists based around the artists they saw each day, based on the stages they checked in to.
If the RFID chipping is successful, we’re set to see a totally new way of wristbanding for Aussie festivals, but microchipping your punters raises a whole lot of questions about how security and privacy could be breached, and there’s no news yet on alternatives for punters who want to attend the festival without things getting all Orwellian.
The technology is being provided by Intellitix, who already provide microchips for international festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo and Tomorrowland, and claim the systems are fraud-proof and secure.
Splendour In The Grass takes place 26th – 28th July at North Byron Parklands.
