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 still being confirmed.

Line-up

The 2014 line-up so far includes Justin Timberlake and The Killers and Lilly Allen, Axwell and Ingrosso, Chase & Status, Kaiser Chiefs, the Manic Street Preachers, and many 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.

The Glee Comedy Club stage will feature performances by high-profile comedians, including Alan Carr.

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

All the following tickets include booking fees.

Day Tickets cost £97.90

Weekend Tickets No Camping cost £175.15

Weekend Tickets plus Camping cost £199.95

VIP Day Tickets cost £177.90

VIP Weekend Tickets no Camping cost £275.15

VIP Weekend Tickets plus Camping cost £303.95

VIP Tickets

To purchase VIP tickets it's first necessary to purchase a normal ticket, and then pay for the upgrade. VIP Tickets give the holder access to a special VIP area that includes a variety of food and drink dispensaries not provided in the main festival area, as well as a bar with with indoor and outdoor seating. After the festival a late bar opens with DJs on both nights. There are also exclusive toilets on the premise. At Weston Park the VIP location is next to a lake.

Children

This event is not suitable for young children, but young teens possibly.

Disability Access

Disabled Access tickets for 2014 are sold out. Further inquiries can be sent to [email protected] or contacted on the phone at 0800 988 4440.

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.

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

V Style Luxury Camping

There is a long list of luxury camping options. These include luxury tents, yurts, wooden cabins, gypsy caravans, camper vans, and lavish Bedouin tents. Prices vary from ~£500 to more than £1000 per person. Click here for the options and prices.

The luxury camping is a short walk away from the main stage and includes many amenities that the main camping lacks. This includes its own entrance, porters to help you with your bags, 24-hour concierge service and security, luxury showers and toilets, mobile phone charging, access to VIP areas, and a Café a late-night bar.

The accommodations themselves might have added amenities inside, such as televisions, kitchen areas and so on.

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

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!

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