Boomtown is now underway for its 2023 edition, and people attending the event have been encouraged to download an app before heading to the festival.

Hampshire police is recommending that festivalgoers be prepared by getting the potentially 'life-saving' app what3words.

The app is not only used for locating friends, food stalls, stage entrances and assigning meeting points but is also a great tool for helping emergency services locate those in a crisis. 

The location technology is used by over 85% of UK emergency services, and breakdown providers like the AA use the technology to locate people in need. 

%image('17091356', type="article-full", alt="what3words works offline, making it ideal for a festival environment")

How does what3words work?

In summary, what3words has divided the entire world into 3m squares and given each square a unique identifier made from three words.

For example, one of these 3m squares at Boomtown 2023 on the Mattersley Estate is 'palettes.manicured.petrified'.

These words are distributed by a mathematical algorithm so they are fixed and will never change.

Plus, what3words works offline, making it ideal for use at a festival where a data connection is likely to be unreliable.

The app is free to download for both iOS and Android devices and is available in over 50 languages.

Thousands of people are expected to be attending Boomtown for its 2023 edition on the Mattersley Estate near Winchester.

It will last from Wednesday, August 9 to Monday, August 14 and many big names will be on show.

Musicians such as The Prodigy, Sister Sledge, Peaches, Cypress Hill and Beenie Man are set to perform.

This year's festival will feature stages such as Grand Central, Hidden Woods, The Fools Leap, Spectrum 360 and more.