# QR codes for concerts and festivals

> A static QR ticket is a screenshot away from being duplicated, which is why major ticketing apps rotate their barcodes. Use static codes for everything else on site — merch pre-orders from queues, artist follows, campsite wayfinding — and print them, because phone screens wash out in sunlight.

Source: https://useqr.app/qr-codes-for/concerts-and-festivals · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## Tickets: the part nobody says plainly

A ticket QR is **consumer-presented** — shown on the attendee's screen — and a static one
copies perfectly: a screenshot is bit-identical to the original, which is why resale fraud
loves static barcodes and why the major ticketing platforms moved to rotating barcodes
that refresh every few seconds and resist screenshots. If you issue static
[QR tickets](/qr-codes-on/event-tickets) — fine for a 200-person show — the security is
not in the code but at the gate: each ticket ID is valid for **one entry**, and the second
scan of the same ID is refused. Without that check, one screenshot in a group chat is
free entry for everyone in it. See
[static versus dynamic](/docs/basics/static-vs-dynamic-qr-codes) for the general
trade-off.

## Sunlight beats screens

Festivals happen outdoors, and a phone screen in direct summer sun is barely readable to
humans and worse to cameras — reflected sunlight swamps
[the emitted image](/docs/scanning/screen-brightness-and-qr-scanning). Two consequences:
tell attendees to raise brightness to maximum at the gate, and for everything *you*
display, **print it** — a matt printed code has no brightness to lose.

## On-site codes that earn their keep

| Placement | Code |
|---|---|
| Merch-stand queue barriers | Pre-order page — the queue shops before it arrives |
| Stage screens between sets | Artist follow / save-the-setlist link |
| Bars and food stalls | Cashless top-up page |
| Campsite entrances and towers | [Geo pin](/location-qr-code) of *this* spot — findable again at 2 am |
| Exit routes | Next-event presale signup |

Festival-scale signage follows the [10:1 rule](/docs/print/the-10-to-1-distance-rule):
codes on banners read from 5 m need **50 cm**. And plan the network honestly — a field
with 30,000 phones has saturated cells, so linked pages must be tiny, and anything
critical belongs on printed signage, not behind a scan.

## FAQ

### Can a screenshot of a QR code ticket be used for entry?

If the ticket is static, yes — a screenshot is a perfect copy. Entry systems defend by
accepting each ticket ID once, refusing repeat scans. Large platforms go further with
rotating barcodes that change every few seconds, which screenshots cannot keep up with.

### Why won't my phone's ticket scan in bright sunlight?

Direct sun reflecting off the glass overwhelms the light the screen emits, collapsing the
code's contrast for the scanner's camera. Maximum brightness, shading the screen with a
hand, or stepping into shadow fixes it — which is why gate staff wave people towards the
tent.

### What QR codes should a festival print on site?

Ones that trade a captive moment for value: pre-order codes along merch queues, follow
codes on stage screens, geo-pin codes at campsite corners, top-up codes at bars. Printed
large, matt, and sized by the 10:1 distance rule.

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