Festival rules

Festivals attract very diverse crowds, and unfortunately things can happen. To avoid unpleasant situations, we ask that all festival visitors follow these rules.

General

1. These rules apply to all venues of the Animatsuri festival (hereinafter: festival or AniMatsuri) from its start to its end.

2. The start of the festival is the time at which the first visitor is admitted to the venue. The end of the festival is when the last visitor leaves the venue.

3. If this ruleset conflicts with the venue’s rules, then the venue’s rules apply.

4. This ruleset regulates the behavior of the festival’s organizers, team, volunteers, and visitors.

5. Exceptions to this ruleset can be made with the permission of the festival’s head organizer.

Attending the Festival

1. The festival venue includes all rooms that are used to conduct the festival.

2. The festival venue is split into three zones.
2.1. The venue’s first zone is open during the festival to organizers, team members, volunteers, and visitors. A visitor is a person with a valid festival pass, an exhibitor/performer, or who has been admitted to the festival by special permission. Special permissions are issued only by the head organizer.
2.2. The festival’s second zone includes areas which require special permissions to enter. These are open to organizers, team members, specially permitted volunteers, and persons who have purchased special passes.
2.3. The third zone is open only to volunteers, team members and organizers.

3. Pre-school-age children are only allowed to attend the festival if they are accompanied by someone aged 14 and above. The companion is responsible for the behavior of the pre-schooler.

Volunteers

1. A volunteer is a person who has signed a volunteer work agreement with the Animatsuri organizers.

2. The volunteer’s special rights and special obligations are set forth in the volunteer work agreement signed between the volunteer and the Animatsuri organizers.

Items

1. The festival organizers are not responsible for the state of items that people have brought along for their personal use.

2. The festival organizers promise to keep an eye on the items left into the checkroom but will not take responsibility for them.

3. If the festival venue’s property or any items provided specifically for the festival (such as TVs, game consoles, audio equipment, etc.) are damaged, the person who damaged them must compensate the item’s owner for the full extent of the damage.

Forbidden Items

1. Forbidden items are items that visitors are not allowed to bring into the festival venue while the festival is running.

2. Forbidden items include alcoholic beverages, drugs, and weapons*. The festival organizers make the final call about allowing the items into the festival venue.

3. Forbidden items shall be immediately confiscated by the festival organizers. Confiscated items shall be stored at the information table. Festival organizers take no responsibility for the state of the confiscated items.

Behavior

1. All festival visitors must be considerate to the well-being of other people. Behavior threatening the well-being of other people is called unacceptable behavior.

2. Unacceptable behavior includes psychological and physical harassment, alcoholic or narcotic intoxication while in the festival venue, and ignoring the ruleset listed here as well as instructions of festival organizers.
2.1. As an exception, light alcoholic intoxication is permitted for adult festival visitors during the formal ball and afterparty. In both cases the behavior is regulated by the rules set by the ball and party venues respectively.

3. In a state of emergency all festival visitors are obliged to follow the orders of the organizing team members.
3.1 A state of emergency is a fire, a bomb threat, an attack on the festival visitors or staff, and other cases that can endanger the festival organizers and/or visitors.
3.2 A state of emergency is announced by the head organizer, the head organizer’s assistant, or the head of security.

Photo- and videography

1. By entering the festival venue, the visitor agrees to being filmed and photographed by media teams confirmed by the organizers (media will be wearing red team shirts) and agrees that all materials can be used (without paying the visitor) for commercial purposes in all video and photo formats, including printed media and television.

2. The visitors are allowed (in the case of a pre-schooler if the companion gives the permission) to take photos and record videos of the person.

3. Visitors reserve the right to refuse being photographed or filmed by other visitors.
Exceptions are photos and videos taken from afar where asking permission of everyone on the picture is not necessary. Another exceptions are cosplay competition participants who can be photographed during the cosplay competition without their permission.

4. Taking photos during other events is regulated by the supervisor of the event.

5. In the case of breaking the rules mentioned above, the organizers and team members have the right to ask for the deletion of the rule-breaking material.

Dress

1. All persons within the festival venue must follow a dress style that is appropriate for a public place.
1.1 Consider that the festival takes place in a school, and visitors include underage children.

2. In the festival venue one must dress according to the dress code.
2.1 Regarding costumes, the minimal clothing allowed for men is a sleeveless shirt and shorts, and for women a bikini top and shorts/short skirt.

3. Costumes breaking the rules cannot be worn in a public place.
3.1 If the festival organizers feel that a particular costume is inappropriate, they have the right to ask the wearer to cover up.

4. All questions about the suitability of the costume can be sent before the festival to cosplay@animatsuri.ee. In the festival venue the suitability of the costume can be judged by all organizers, ticket sale team members, and security team members.

Sanctions

1. In the case of breaking the rules, the festival organizers have the right to apply sanctions based on the severity and characteristic of the breach.

2. Possible sanctions are verbal warning, confiscating a forbidden item (as stated in the festival rules) or an otherwise dangerous item, removing the offending visitor from the festival area. Item confiscation and removing from the venue cannot be applied together. Organizers have the right to make exceptions in this case.

3. In the case of possessing an illegal item** or illegal behavior** the festival organizers are allowed and obliged to notify the police.

4. Visitors removed from an activity with a registration fee or from the festival venue have no right for a refund.

5. Team members have the right to apply sanctions within their area of responsibility. Only organizers are allowed to remove visitors from the festival venue.

6. A sanction applied by a volunteer may be appealed to an organizer. A sanction by an organizer may be appealed to the head organizer.

7. If the offending visitor is a pre-schooler, the sanctions are also applied to their companion.

8. The organizers have the right to make exceptions in this section.

* Weapons are all items that are regulated by the Republic of Estonia Weapons Act (firearms, gas weapons, pneumatic weapons, throwing weapons, cut-and-thrust weapons, and electroshock weapons). Furthermore, the organizers have the right to confiscate all knives, knife-like items and other cutting items that can be used to do bodily harm.

** According to the laws of the Republic of Estonia in force at the festival venue