FAQs

Like all Scout and Guide camps, there are always plenty of questions to be asked!

Below we have collated those that we think you are most likely to ask. If there are any other burning questions that you have then please contact our admin team via: admin@kij.org.uk

There will be over 100 activities daily for young people to access. Some will be available throughout allocated times so participants can experience them several times. Some activities may prove more popular and attract queues. We encourage participants to try other activities and return when queues reduce. Some activities will be limited time access or single participation. Subcamp staff will assist leaders with allocating times and places when this occurs.

All participants will be required to wear their neckerchief which will provide them with access to their allocated activity on a particular day and time slot.

Some activities will be restricted by participant size but there are no age restrictions. Don't worry, there's plenty to do.

There will be both daytime and evening activities.
We wish our adult volunteers to have a great time at our Festival and ask that appropriate behaviour towards alcohol is adhered to and respect shown to all who attend. In all cases the rules regarding alcohol will be as per Scouting Policy Organisation and Rules (POR) and the Green Card.

This procedure is provided to give participants at KIJ clear guidance on the expectations of the organisers in relation to consumption of Alcohol Standards.

It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase alcohol.

Any person under the age of 18 must not consume alcohol.

No participants under the age of 18 will be allowed in the licensed bar.

Anyone who attends the jamboree as a participant (under 18 at start of camp) remains a participant even if they turn 18 during the camp and therefore will not be allowed to purchase or consume alcohol for the full duration of KIJ.

Staff with children under the age of 18 will have a separate family area in the bar.

Any drink-related incident or complaint involving persons attending KIJ 2025 will be dealt with by the Camp Chief and the Management Team and, in an extreme case, may result in expulsion from the festival.
We will be welcoming in the region of 8,000 people on our arrival day. This is a mammoth task and whilst every effort will be made to make the experience as easy and smooth as possible, we do sometimes experience challenges, not all in our control.

We ask for peoples understanding and patience. We will stagger arrival times across the subcamps to minimize road congestion. We ask that all those driving follow our stewards’ instructions and don’t stop to ask questions until they have been shown to a parking or set-down area. It is important we keep traffic flowing off the main roads and around our perimeter roads. This may result in being asked to pull over in a holding area while we deal with any short-term back-logs.

We propose in many cases to get all participant wristbands and car signage posted out to the contingent leader so people can arrive with passes already in place, reduce waiting times in the car parks and speed up entry times.
Meeting Scouts and Guides from different parts of the world, and exchanging badges and memorabilia has always been an integral part of jamborees. We do not wish to stop this but would like to ensure participants are engaging with fair and appropriate swapping of items and badges. We therefore ask that participants are encouraged in all cases to seek guidance and advice from their leaders before swapping.

Our festival has a badge swapping area located at our International Café where the activity is supervised and there are adults available to oversee and advise on swaps.
Absolutely yes: if you know of a contingent you wish to camp alongside or assist in hosting at the festival please contact admin who can ensure the appropriate subcamps are allocated.

Likewise please contact admin if you wish to join another contingent.
Yes, the number of participants can be increased at a later date until the Jamboree is full
No accommodation vehicles are permitted in the subcamp areas unless for medical reasons and agreed by the Camp Chief.

Staff campervans, caravans and motorhomes for 2025 will be parked in the Urban Hub camping area.
All vehicles should be parked in their designated Car Park.

Only designated vehicles displaying permits will be allowed on the Showground and must not obstruct roadways or fire breaks.

If arriving by car you will be directed to the Main entrance. It is important when you enter the site you keep moving and follow the signs along the on site road to the car park drop off area. Please do not stop on your way to the drop-off area as we are not permitted to cause any queues back onto the main A249 road which is the approach road.

Vans and cars with trailers carrying kit and coaches will be directed to a different entrance. There will signage on the A249 provided by our traffic management company and we will send you pre-event details with regard to arrival times, routes to take and passes to access your designated areas.
All groups will need to abide by their respective Association’s rules with regards to camping permits. Every group must have a permit holder attached to them and within those rules.
It is important participants wear suitable clothing for each activity for safety.

Participants not in the correct clothing may be asked to return to their camp to change before taking part in the activity.

We may have splash pools so swimming wear may be required. We make announcements as activities are confirmed.

We have a challenge that will include running/walking, obstacles, water and messy elements so old clothing (shorts/T shirts) and footwear that can get dirty is advised.

As ever with the English climate, come prepared for heat as well as the rain and wind!

Don't forget to order your KIJ clothing!
The fees for the Jamboree are:

Participant: £275.00

Leader: £100.00

KIST: £100.00

KIST Food package: £50.00

Jambo Junior: £10 (Jamboree Pack) plus £5.00 per creche session (am/pm)

Day Visitor: £15.00

Please note that costs to Participants and Leaders does not include food. Please refer to the food FAQ for more information.
KIJ 2025 will be held from the 2nd of August 2025 till the 9th of August 2025.
Should someone wish to visit for the day they must demonstrate they are part of the Scout or Guide Association of their country.

Visiting times will be from 10:00h to 16:00h Sunday to Friday. There will be a charge of £15 per person. Parking will be in the designated day visitor car park.

All day visitors must book their visit prior to attending. Booking for day visitors will close one week prior to the event starting. There will be no other day visits or times offered.
For safety reasons please don't bring with you: drones, heelies, roller skates, skateboards, cycles and hoverboards on site unless they are part of an organised KIJ activity.

Also under our safety rules we will not permit the release of helium balloons or Chinese Lanterns (or similar).

Management Team will be using cycles.

If caught using a drone you may be removed from site for breaking our rules. Please read our T&C's.
Only those drones that are contracted or provided by the KIJ Media team will be allowed to fly at the event.

All flights will follow the 'Drone Code' as provided by the Civil Aviation Authority at the time. More information can be found here
There is limited availability of tents and cooking equipment to hire. Please contact your subcamp team to request this.
We will have a purpose built, unique, one of a kind arena that will not be experienced at any other Scouting event! It will be where we are delivering the opening and closing ceremonies and shows throughout the week. There will be flashing lights, strobes, and pyro effects as well as loud music. Some people may be adversely affected by this, and it is important they are prepared and supported should they require, for example, filtered glasses or ear protectors.

We would like our event to be as inclusive as possible. By informing the KIJ team prior to attending with a person’s additional needs will enable us to work with you to ensure every person gets the best possible experience.

We are working with BSL to provide covergae for those with hearing impairment
There will be many Fire Points situated around the site. Leaders should help ensure fire extinguishers are not set off unless there is a fire. In the event of a fire they should only be used by competent and confident people.

As a minimum, all contingents should have a fire extinguisher and fire blanket available in the cooking area.
There should be a clear gap between tents, pegs and guy ropes of adjoining tents. Before erecting larger tents & marquees, please liaise with Subcamp Staff.

All roadways and fire breaks (including permanent and temporary) should be always kept clear.

Gateways must not obstruct any fire breaks or roads and guy ropes must all be kept within your site boundary.

Fire Hydrants should be kept clear of all obstructions and used only by authorised.

Litter and combustibles should not be allowed to accumulate on subcamps.

LPG (Gas) cylinders must be kept outside tents. These items should not be stored in bulk on the Subcamp, supplies will be available from the facility onsite.

Naked flames, i.e. Trangias, must not be used in small tents. When used in large tents they must be positioned away from wall and roof surfaces, away from other combustibles, out of draughts and where they cannot be knocked over.

No open fires or charcoal barbeques permitted.
Each group is expected to have their own First Aider and First Aid Kit.

Should further medical assistance be needed then the KIJ Central Medical team can be contacted. There will be doctors, paramedics, and nurses in our purpose built medical centre to provide emergency cover.
Food is not included in the camp fees (except for staff paying for the additional package).

The KIJ site is situated near to the local town of Maidstone, that has a number of supermarkets within it.

Alternatively, you can arrange for food deliveries to be delivered to site. More details on this will be released nearer to the time of the event to all the contingent/group leaders
Each subcamp will have a freezer specially to freeze ice blocks and fridges for medical storage.
As is tradition in jamborees the camping style is much closer to one another than normal and, in the interests of fairness to other campers, the use of generators is prohibited.
The Showground is used by animals a few weeks prior to our event. As such everyone should be seated on chairs to eat.

All cooking must be completed on gas.

No open fires are permitted on the Showground.
This is a very big topic area, and we will not provide a sufficient answer in a few lines under FAQs. We can tell you that we have worked closely with the UK Scout Inclusivity Teams. Kent is a lead Scouting County and have a dedicated Inclusion Team who will be based at our Welfare Centre throughout KIJ. Further we have worked with and taken advice from organisations and educationalists who oversee and work across a range of inclusion, including SEN environments.

It is important to raise any concerns or needs prior to our event which are not being managed within your contingent, or need our attention, so we can reassure and work with those requiring additional support.

As a festival, KIJ is passionate about everyone, be they a young person or adult, having the best possible KIJ experience. This may require, for instance:

The support of a buddy

Specialist wash facilities

Safe spaces

Learning identification

Ability identification

Restricted area access

Aids for particular activities

Daily medical checks

Reduced attendance on site.

Whatever the need we are here to assist and support you all. Please speak to our team via: admin@kij.org.uk
KIJ25 takes place at the Kent Showground.

Kent Showground,
Detling,
Maidstone
ME14 3JF
Any lost property found can be bought to reception from where it can be reclaimed.

At the end of the event all lost property will be kept for two weeks, after which it will be given to charity.
KIJ will have aspects of the festival that invite participants and leaders to interact using mobile phone apps. Further, it may be beneficial to access additional information through associated websites using a mobile phone. We would recommend participants bring mobile phones with them.

Where this is not possible or appropriate, we will provide mobile devices for participants where it is a necessary aspect of the activity being undertaken. Such devices will be for the purpose of the activity only.

There will be limited sockets for charging phones on each subcamp.

KIJ are not responsible for any loss or damage of mobile phones
Anyone who attends the jamboree as a participant (under 18 at start of camp) remains a participant even if they turn 18 during the camp. Turning 18 during the event does not give you access to the adult only area or the adult bar. As a participant (under 18) you remain as such for the duration of the event. Anyone breaking this rule will be removed from site. Please read our T&C's

Anybody attending KIJ between the ages of 10 and 18 years old (under 18 at start of camp) will be classed as a participant. Anyone over the age of 18 at the start of KIJ will be able to attend as either a leader with a group OR as a member of KIST and must be signed up to the event as such.

For Guiding units please note that any 18 year old Rangers are not able to attend/take part as Rangers, as this event's upper age limit for youth participants is the day they turn 18 and as such you need to arrange for any 18 year olds to become either leaders with your unit or join the event staff team (and in both cases they will need to undertake DBS/Safe Space etc).
Payments are manually processed so may take 7 days to be processed and reflected on the system

For IBAN Payments Bank Details are:

CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent. ME19 4JQ

Site Address:

Kent County Scout Council, Lower Grange Farm, Grange Lane, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 3DA
Personal possessions are the responsibility of the camper and/or the group. Unfortunately, KIJ cannot take any responsibility for lost items, although any lost items can be brought to Lost Property.

Personal property is unfortunately not covered by Girlguiding UK or Scout Association insurance, however groups may want to investigate taking their own insurance for such items. Please consult your insurance company for details.
Every KIJ Team, and every activity provider will have completed and supplied an appropriate risk assessment which will be placed in the Risk Register.

Kent County Council, Maidstone Borough Council and Kent Fire and Rescue are also included in the festival Risk Assessment providing their own requirements. Maidstone Borough Council and Kent Fire and Rescue visit our site during the build and approve the safety of our event prior to the event going live (arrival day).

We have consulted with the Health and Safety Executive, The Scout Association Safety Team and Unity Insurance with regard KIJ Risk Assessments. KIJ25 is an event delivered and underwritten by Kent County Scout Council and as such operates under The Scout Association, Policy Organisation and Rules (POR).

Being a large event, KIJ25 is registered with Kent County Council, and Maidstone Borough Council Safety Advisory Group. The KIJ25 Event Strategic Plan is in line with the Purple Guide and reflects the Health and Safety Policy of the Kent Showground. KIJ25 will only be allowed to proceed following the agreement of Maidstone Borough Council, Kent Fire and Rescue and Kent Police.

Regarding Risk Assessments, we offer Contingents (Groups) Adventurous Activity Risk Assessments and the KIJ25 general site Risk Assessment. For all other activities we invite you to refer to POR.

Contingents (Groups) attending will be required to complete a Risk Assessment for their specific travel arrangements and camping area and follow camp procedures of their own Association's rules.

The Scout Association Safety Team believes the information provided (as above) is sufficient to have Nights Away applications, to attend KIJ, approved.

For Children in Care, we have consulted a Social Worker Team and believe the above also covers Child in Care requirements. However, if you have a specific child in care, who must have a letter from the Camp Director stating the above, to get approval from their Local Authority to attend, please contact the KIJ Admin Team with that request.
Please recycle everything in line with our 'Now Recycle' policy to help us minimise our carbon footprint.

All rubbish should be carefully put into the roller bins that are positioned around the site.

Please remember that young people cannot always reach the back or top of the bins, rubbish left around the bins provides a severe health hazard so please ensure rubbish is placed in the bins whenever possible.

KIJ will endeavour to work towards being an environmentally sustainable camp. We will work towards promoting environmental awareness to all our participants through a range of activities and common practices. KIJ will work hard to be a carbon neutral event.

When the festival finishes, we will ask that any sealed leftover food (not taken away) to be dropped at a designated area. The food will then be collected by a homeless charity food bank service to support those less fortunate than ourselves.

Any lost property and left-over clothing will be collected and where possible messages sent to participants to establish if items are to be returned or donated. Any unclaimed or donated items will go to charity for sale in their shops. All items sold are tracked and we receive updates on the amount raised for their charity.
The purpose of KIJ is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual potentials, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national, and international communities.

It is the policy of KIJ to safeguard the welfare of all participants by protecting them from physical, sexual and emotional harm.

To achieve this policy of Young People First, it is a requirement for all people to act within a code of behaviour when dealing with young people at our event.

CODE OF BEHAVIOUR

The following points must be always followed by all:

do always wear appropriate dress. (Upper body must always remain covered; hi-visibility jacket only is not acceptable).

do not have inappropriate physical or verbal contact with others.

do not play physical contact games with young people.

do not make suggestive remarks or gestures, even in fun.

do not allow yourself to be drawn into inappropriate attention seeking behaviour such as tantrums or crushes.

remember that someone else might misinterpret your actions, no matter how well intentioned.

do not rely on your good name to protect you.

do not believe 'it could never happen to me.'

Report all occurrences of concern surrounding young people in line with your Association's Safeguarding Policy.

We will have members of the HQ Safeguarding Team on site to provide immediate support and guidance.
Please respect all those who attend, and we ask those who wish to smoke or vape to do so only in the designated areas.
It is always good to have clarity for all parties involved with KIJ. You will be requested to read and understand our Terms and Conditions before making your booking to attend. available here
No unauthorised trading (eg. selling badges, memorabilia, sweets, toys, souvenirs, camping equipment, cosmetics, clothing, food etc.) will be permitted at KIJ.
As the event is held on Kent County Showground, there are several permanent toilet and shower facilities available on site. These will be allocated for adult only use.

In addition, we hire extra mobile shower and toilet facilities which are strategically placed around the site. These will be allocated for participants' use only.

There will be some units that we bring in that are multi-use and will be sign posted accordingly.

Toilets and showers are regularly cleaned by service staff.

The showground has now upgraded their water supply with a regulated management system allowing for participants to clean their teeth in the permanent showground facilities

We ask everyone respects the shower and toilet facilities as we all live on site and we should all leave them how we would expect to find them in the home.
Disposal of water should be done at the designated sites please. Please do not throw wastewater into the hedges or boundaries.
We would not be in England if we did not talk about the weather!

Please ensure that you have suitable protection for both hot and wet weather - i.e. sun cream, a hat and plenty of water in the heat, waterproofs and a set of clean warm clothing to replace clothes that get wet during activities.
All accidents or incidents including 'near misses' must be reported to your subcamp office or the activity leader as soon as possible after the incident.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding a young person or an adult, please contact our Listening Ear representative on your subcamp.
Today’s youth have been raised in a throw-away society little concerned with sustainability or long-term projections of environmental damage. The effects of global warming, erratic weather patterns, and other signs of environmental upset have brought the need for a more widespread environmental consciousness into view.

Thanks to the news and public debate over how to protect the environment, young people are more aware of the problem than in the past, but where do they gain awareness and knowledge? Ultimately, protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility and young people have a part to play.

In the Kent Schools' survey for life concerns, the environment featured as the number three, in the top five concerns.

Since listening to our KIJ Youth Voices and talking to many of our supporters and providers about KIJ, we have realised our choice of theme has been very well received and features heavily in many company, organisation and charities' strategic plans.

Our festival is a great opportunity with Scouts and Guides from around the world to raise awareness and signpost young people to where they may wish to take action and to be better global citizens.

We hope everyone who attends grasps and engages with our theme and collectively strive to make positive change to our global sustainable environment.
There will be Wi-Fi network for use at KIJ. However, we cannot guarantee speed of connection if everyone logs in at the same time.