Bestival goes Canadian

Bestival Toronto 2015

Friday 12th to Saturday 13th June 2015
Hanlan's Point Beach, Toronto Islands Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada MAP
$129.50

Daily capacity: 20,000

Last updated: Wed 6th May 2015

Last year we brought you news, (here), that Bestival's founder Rob Da Bank,was about to take his festival brand, Bestival, international.

The event's new website (here), has revealed that Bestival will set up camp in Canada in June.

Bestival will import their tradition of electronic dance music, alternative rock and dressed-up crowds to the Canadian pop festival market with the arrival on Hanlan’s Point Beach in the Toronto Islands — a park area in Lake Ontario, just offshore from the city’s downtown, and is expected to happen on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th June 2015.

The Toronto Islands (formerly known as Island of Hiawatha and is also known as Menecing) are a chain of small islands in the city of Toronto, Ontario.

Although there are no acts announced yet for 2015, but expect the line-up to follow the UK edition's booking ethos.

Ticket prices have not yet been announced and are not yet on sale for the event which eill happen in partnership with the international festival giant SFX Entertainment and the Canadian company Embrace, Bestival will build a temporary space for the Toronto event that will hold up to 20,000 people a day.

The event hopes to become the first UK festival to become a regular annual success on both sides the Atlantic.

The nearby North American festival market, has grown rapidly to become a packed festival calendar in recent years, but organiser Rob Da Bank believes they have a unique selling point, telling the New York Times, "No disrespect to the festivals in North America, but a lot of them are very much stages, bars, food tents. This festival will look very different. It will have theatricality, ambition."

He added in a statement, "We have waited 12 years to decide to launch another Bestival outside of the UK and our beloved Bestival, on the Isle of Wight, which has grown into one of the most important festivals in the global calendar. It took a really special city, and an even more exciting site, with Toronto and Toronto Island, to make us take the leap. So, the waiting is over and we are so excited to be launching in North America in June, with a classic Bestival line-up waiting to thrill, intrigue and party! I’d like to thank all our partners, friends, new and old, and supporters in Toronto, for making this happen. We cannot wait!"

We'll bring you line-up and ticket details once they've been officially announced.

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