V festival is a weekend music festival held in two locations simultaneously, where acts perform at one location on the Saturday and swap on Sunday. Sponsored by the Virgin Brand, The sites are located at Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, South Staffordshire and held over the penultimate weekend in August.
Offering a bill of predominantly commercial acts, crowd favourites, and radio friendly indie upstarts, V festival prides itself in being extremely catered to a wide consumer audience, and with that comes more than music- there are big comedy names seen too.
Rumours
Acts are in the process of confirmation.
Lineup
2013: Beyonce (European Festival Exclusive), Kings Of Leon, The Stereophonics, The Script, Emeli Sande, Calvin Harris, Beady Eye, Jessie J, Two Door Cinema Club and many more more!
Vibe
Although diverse in genre, the line-up for V festivals consist of mainstream bands, with lesser known bands not really fitted to the ethos of the festival.
Due to the more corporate nature of the event, music enthusiasts and regular festival attendees usually avoid this festival, meaning that V has earned the apptly named nickname of being a 'Virgin' Festival - a festival for first timers.
Stages and other entertainment
Each arena contains several stages including the Virgin Media Stage, 4 Music Stage, the Arena Stage and the Undercover Stage.
The Undercover stage is the best place to see unpolished musical gems and take the chance to see performances in an enclosed environment. The intimacy inside this undercover stage makes for an electric atmosphere amongst the smaller crowd.
Other entertainment includes the mini-Ibiza of the Bacardi stage, where you can listen and enjoy a variety of DJ’s, or the relaxing haven of the Virgin Mobile Union Garden, as tranquil a place as is possible at a 90,000 capacity music festival.
Tickets
Tickets will be on sale on Friday 1st March, 2013. Available here.
Children
This event is not suitable for young children, but young teens possibly.
Disability Access
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Weather
As is always the case with the British Weather, if the summer has hit, this usually a very hot weekend with temps ranging between 21 - 30 in some years. However if it rains, it can feel as low as 15C due to wind.
Our 2013 forecasts will begin closer to the time.
Location
- Hylands Park, London Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 8WQ
- Weston Park, Weston-under-Lizard, Shifnal, Shropshire, TF11 8LE
Travel
HYLANDS PARK
- Nearest train station - Chelmsford
- First Buses Essex Ltd operate a return service for £5 return from Chelmsford rail station.
WESTON PARK
- Nearest train stations - Wolverhampton & Stafford
- National Express West Midlands will be operating a £8 return shuttle bus service from Wolverhampton Bus Station (50 meters from Bus Station) and Stafford Rail Station to Weston Park and back.
If you would like to travel by car, why not save some money with Blabla Car - the ultimate car sharing website for UK and Europe!
Local Accommodation
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What to wear
V Festival is quite trendy, so it is a must to have super funky wellies whether you are a dude or a lass.
For girls, flower headbands are really in season at UK festivals this year,as well as native indian head dresses which are often cheaper to buy at the festival itself, as opposed to ordering one online for delivery.
Playsuits for women are popular too as they a comfy yet stylish.
Camping
For campers, there are facilities open post arena closing, which include a fun fair, silent disco and films showing throughout the night.
Here are some tips when deciding where to camp:
GOLD
- Pros: Spacious, Close to Car Park, Quiter and laid back camping
- Cons: 20 longer walk from arena, lack of nearby food vans
RED
- Pros: Lively and close to arena
- Cons: Worst toilets, Busy, Always lots of rubbish around because footfall
BLUE
- Pros: Close to showers, lively but quiet enough to sleep
- Cons: Shower queues horrible
ORANGE - Similar to Gold GREY- Similar to blue YELLOW- Very small, toilets ok, balanced atmosphere but fill quickly as only 5-10 min walk to arena GREEN- Similar to gold but not close to car parks
Site Information
- Cash Machine are available, but charge up to £2 for withdrawals
- There are plenty of recycling and litter bins available on site that are emptied hourly.
- Virgin Media suply free mobile charging points regardless of your network
Food and drink
It is worth noting that 2006's V festival gained many complaints due to expensive nature of merchandise and beverages. Attendees were expected to pay around £10 for a programme, similar to many mainstream festivals, it's important to budget your money well.
There is usually a Strongbow pub where adults can try a variety of ciders and beers.
The bars are operated on a token system. Tokens are purchased from the token booths then exchanged at the bar for drinks. Some token booths will remain open for 1 hour after the bars have closed so vouchers can be redeemed.
Perform at the festival
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Volunteer or jobs
Visit here
Drugs and security
There are dogs on site, bag checks and random checks in site. Last year 100 arrests were made, most where those with possession with intent to supply.
Stream online
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Mobile Apps
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Trivia
The festival came together in 1996 when Pulp’s frontman Jarvis Cocker announced he wanted to play two outdoor festivals in two days. His promoters then constructed a plan to have the same gig performed in Victoria Park Warrington and Hylands Park Chelmsford, giving fans in both the North and South a chance to see the band. More acts and stages, and the option of camping were later added to the idea. As Victoria Park was too small for three stages and camping, the first V in 1996 had one day of artists in Victoria Park and 2 days at Hylands Park with camping.
The northern leg of V97 was switched to Temple Newsam, Leeds to provide room for camping and three stages, but was moved to Weston Park in Staffordshire in 1999, and has remained there since.
Originally, the festival took the name of the current year, with the first festival being named "V96". However, in 2003 the name was changed to V Festival.
Throughout the years, it has built a loyal audience through its popular acts, weekend format and professional organisation.
Past lineups
Headliners for V Festival 2012 included The Killers and The Stone Roses. To view the full line-up click here., Highlights from that year's event can be seen here
2011’s line-up included Arctic Monkeys, Eminem, Rihanna, Plan B, Kaiser Chiefs, Ellie Goulding, The Script, Manic Street Preachers, Lost Prophets, Bruno Mars, Scouting for Girls, Dizzee Rascal, Calvin Harris, Pendulum, Chase and Status, Good Charlotte, for full details of the 2011 line-up press here
For details of past line-ups press here
