Digital payment system fails at Ringsted Festival

Ringsted Festival’s new digital payment system collapsed on opening day, forcing organizers to revert to card terminals, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

The festival had planned for all 17,000 attendees to use only its app or wristbands for entry and payments, eliminating the need for physical cards. Two additional telecom masts were installed to handle the load, but one failed just as the gates opened, crippling the system.

Festival director Britt Abildgaard called the outage frustrating, noting extensive preparations had been made to avoid such issues. A backup plan with card terminals was activated, allowing payments via Dankort.

Attendee Vibeke Sommer had expressed concern before the failure, warning that a system crash would leave visitors unable to buy food or drinks in the heat. Organizers confirmed the backup solution prevented major disruptions.

By Friday morning, Abildgaard said the telecom mast issue was being resolved to improve coverage. Extra staff were assigned to scan tickets via the app, and wristbands remained a fallback for entry checks. She acknowledged the system, in its first year, was bound to encounter problems but stressed the goal was to avoid the card payment failures seen in July 2025.

The festival runs through August 1.