How Many Toilets Should You Provide for Your Event?

Summer is here, and we’re delighted to see the return of all its festivities — festivals, flea markets, family celebrations! But for all these outdoor events, there’s one piece of equipment you must never forget… toilets! Planning sanitation areas is one of the essential elements of any large-scale event. Just imagine attending a festival, a concert, or even hosting people at your own home without any toilets available! That’s an oversight that would come with quite a few unpleasant consequences!

Indeed, when organizing an event, you need to anticipate the number of sanitation facilities required in order to meet health and hygiene standards and ensure your attendees’ comfort. Here’s more on the subject below!

Recommendations for Planning Sanitation at Your Event

Whatever type of event you’re organizing, certain points need attention. In particular, it’s essential to offer solutions that promote inclusivity. This means setting up different sanitation zones that meet everyone’s needs.

Male and female sanitation zones: According to the book Toilettes publiques: Essai sur les commodités urbaines by Julien Damon, the average time spent using the toilet differs between men and women. For men, the average visit lasts 45 seconds, while for women it’s 90 seconds. As a result, more mobile sanitation cabins should be planned for the women’s area.
Sanitation zones for people with reduced mobility (PRM): To ensure your event is accessible to everyone, at least 1 accessible mobile sanitation cabin must be provided. The number of accessible cabins required varies with the number of users — 1 accessible cabin should be added for every 500 participants.

How Do I Calculate the Number of Toilets Needed for My Event?

To determine how many toilets are needed for a festival or event, several factors must be taken into account, including whether food or drinks will be available, the duration of the event, and the number of attendees.

For example, if your event lasts more than 6 hours and there’s no food or drink available, you should plan for 1 mobile sanitation cabin per 65 attendees.

**Number of Self-Contained Toilets Needed for Event Attendees**
Attendees 50% men 50% women	Number of Toilets — 6-Hour Duration	Number of Toilets — 12-Hour Duration
1 to 249	4	7
250 to 499	8	14
500 to 999	15	28
1000 to 1999	31	57
2000 to 2999	46	86
3000 to 3999	62	114
4000 to 4999	77	142
5000 to 5999	92	171
6000 to 6999	100	200
7000 to 7999	123	228
8000 to 8999	138	257
9000 to 9999	154	286
10 000 to 10 999	169	314
11 000 to 11 999	185	343
12 000 to 12 999	200	371
13 000 to 13 999	215	400
14 000 to 14 999	231	429
15 000 to 15 999	246	457
16 000 to 16 999	262	486
17 000 to 17 999	277	514
18 000 to 18 999	292	543
19 000 to 19 999	308	571
more than 20,000 attendees	308 + 16 more per additional increment of 1,000 users	571 + 29 more per additional increment of 1,000 users

Additionally, 1 cabin should be provided for every 52 attendees if food and drinks are served on-site. This represents a 25% increase in the number of sanitation cabins required when catering and beverage services are offered.

**Number of Self-Contained Toilets Needed for Events Serving Food and Drinks**
Attendees 50% men 50% women	Number of Toilets — 6-Hour Duration	Number of Toilets — 12-Hour Durationh
1 to 249	5	8
250 to 499	10	17
500 to 999	19	33
1000 to 1999	38	67
2000 to 2999	58	100
3000 to 3999	77	133
4000 to 4999	96	167
5000 to 5999	115	200
6000 to 6999	135	233
7000 to 7999	154	267
8000 to 8999	173	300
9000 to 9999	192	333
10 000 to 10 999	212	367
11 000 to 11 999	231	400
12 000 to 12 999	250	433
13 000 to 13 999	269	467
14 000 to 14 999	288	500
15 000 to 15 999	308	533
16 000 to 16 999	327	567
17 000 to 17 999	346	600
18 000 to 18 999	365	633
19 000 to 19 999	385	667
more than 20,000 attendees	385 + 20 more per additional increment of 1,000 users	667 + 34 more per additional increment of 1,000 users

Finally, it’s important to note that a handwashing solution must always be provided. This can be achieved either through sanitation cabins equipped with handwashing stations or through the installation of standalone event handwashing stations.

Still unsure how to calculate the hygiene solutions you need? Check out our interactive calculator. This tool gives you an estimate of the number of mobile sanitation units required for your event. To get this estimate, simply enter details such as the number of attendees or the duration of your event.

How Many Toilets Are Needed for a 100-Person Event?

On average, a 100-person event requires between 4 and 8 toilets, but this depends on the type of event, its duration, and attendee conditions — for instance, whether people stay for less than an hour, the male/female ratio, and so on. If food or drinks will be consumed on-site, it’s best to aim for the higher end of the recommended range.

WC Loc Supports You in Complying With the EN 16194 Standard

The calculation guidelines set out in the EN 16194 standard provide an initial estimate of the sanitation facilities needed for your site. In addition, our interactive calculator can also help you determine how many sanitation cabins to plan for your event.

That said, beyond this initial estimate, several other factors must be taken into account when organizing your event: Does your site have a water supply? What type of audience will you be welcoming? Is your event subject to attendance peaks? These are all questions to consider in order to create the sanitation area best suited to your event-goers.

Are you planning a large-scale event expecting to welcome several hundred people? Does your project include stages or activities spread across a large site? In that case, you’ll need to set up multiple sanitation zones, including event toilets and handwashing stations, and possibly showers in camping areas — and make sure they’re clearly visible. At WC Loc, we offer connectable solutions, dry toilets, and self-contained toilets suited to high-attendance events.

You can also set up select, premium zones for your artists, alongside your general public toilet areas: uur subsidiary Happee Services offers a complete VIP range. If you’re planning a more intimate event such as a wedding or family gathering, you’ll need more compact, elegant solutions.