Bestival moves

[alexmckenzie]

46 minutes ago, stu_kent said:

This year has hit Bestival hard. 

I probably haven't been paying as much attention as I should but what was wrong with this year's event? There seems to be a lot of flack aimed at an event that managed to secure The Cure as a headliner.

[stuie]

7 minutes ago, alexmckenzie said:

I probably haven't been paying as much attention as I should but what was wrong with this year's event? There seems to be a lot of flack aimed at an event that managed to secure The Cure as a headliner.

They only sold 40,000 of their tickets, instead of 60,000 and as a result done lots of last minute cutbacks.

Lots of stages and features missing or half assed for example, Bollywood tent was a regular white marquee, the new Spaceport stage looked unfinished and the main stage was literally half the size it had been previous years. Even the wristbands were plastic instead of the usual woven fabric!*

 

* I don't believe the story about the woven fabric wristbands being stolen/leaked being the reason for an emergency plastic replacement!

[incident]

7 minutes ago, stu_kent said:

Even the wristbands were plastic instead of the usual woven fabric!*

* I don't believe the story about the woven fabric wristbands being stolen/leaked being the reason for an emergency plastic replacement!

That story was actually true, and the switch was quite a last minute decision - the cloth ones did exist. I don't know if they're still doing it, but they've been posting them out free of charge to anyone who E-Mailed a request.

Rather than being a money saving exercise, I have to assume that the switch to plastic actually cost them a decent amount of money with the cost of the last minute wristband acquisition and postage.

[stuie]

3 minutes ago, incident said:

That story was actually true, and the switch was quite a last minute decision - the cloth ones did exist. I don't know if they're still doing it, but they've been posting them out free of charge to anyone who E-Mailed a request.

Yeah, I emailed off for my cloth wristband and finally got sent one in the post a couple of weeks ago.  It didn't match the branding of this year, didn't state the year on it and looked very low quality.  It looked more like the branding of the year before actually, Desert Island Disco.

When you compare it with previous years, it's obviously shitter - like they had a few hundred made for people who actually bothered to ask for them.  

[mjsell]

I preferred the fact there was only 40,000 tickets sold this year

[phillyfaddle]

Lulworth Castle is a very beautiful location (I've been to Camp Bestival there with the kids 4 or 5 times), but I don't think it has anywhere near the capacity for a 40,000-60,000 Bestival crowd? The roads (lanes) around it couldn't cope with the level of traffic it would generate. IMHO anyway.

[incident]

1 hour ago, stu_kent said:

Yeah, I emailed off for my cloth wristband and finally got sent one in the post a couple of weeks ago.  It didn't match the branding of this year, didn't state the year on it and looked very low quality.  It looked more like the branding of the year before actually, Desert Island Disco.

When you compare it with previous years, it's obviously shitter - like they had a few hundred made for people who actually bothered to ask for them.  

Not sure about the quality, and I'm not sure whether the ones sent out were made after the fact or not.

But the story was definitely true, and caused them some big headaches.

[guypjfreak]

9 hours ago, Woffy said:

Guy, I love you. 

'Rob Bdank' make me proper fucking LOL. 

;-)

Well I try old son 

[guypjfreak]

6 hours ago, phillyfaddle said:

Lulworth Castle is a very beautiful location (I've been to Camp Bestival there with the kids 4 or 5 times), but I don't think it has anywhere near the capacity for a 40,000-60,000 Bestival crowd? The roads (lanes) around it couldn't cope with the level of traffic it would generate. IMHO anyway.

I agree with you on that 

[DDave]

12 hours ago, Lucy92 said:

After going last year I think the move is a good idea. We had a complete nightmare with ferries getting home and it's a huge price to pay to get across a tiny stretch of water. I've heard the amount of islanders compared to people who travel is so small that it makes sense for them to move it. 

Less than 5% of attendees were islanders which I thought was amazingly low. definitely the right and only choice to move to the mainland.

[dan8k]

It was Nile Rodgers idea to move there

[jonodillieono]

Leeds festival staff had the same problems with wristbands this year. gave the normal ones out on Tuesday but then by the time I arrived on Thursday theyd been stolen and replacements had to be given out. The replacements sucked

[Jamie D]

On 12/16/2016 at 9:36 AM, Quark said:

Holy balls, is that how much the ferry costs?! As I believe the kids say, DAAAYYYYUM!

That's how much it was when I booked about 2 weeks before the festival for 1 car and 2 people. Lymington to Yarnmouth. 

[Woffy]

On 17/12/2016 at 0:44 AM, dan8k said:

It was Nile Rodgers idea to move there

Isn't everything?

[Memory Man]

On 16/12/2016 at 3:32 PM, mjsell said:

I preferred the fact there was only 40,000 tickets sold this year

The irony is that in its golden years thats about how many went, if not less. The people behind it obviously took their punters for granted and always assumed bigger was better. A fool's choice as you'll see the events that have success year on year like green man, end of the road and to a lesser extend glastonbury are the ones that keep their capacities static and arent always trying to grow.

festival no 6 tried to get bigger too quickly and look what happened....

Edited December 18, 2016 by Memory Man

[stuartbert two hats]

8 hours ago, Memory Man said:

The irony is that in its golden years thats about how many went, if not less. The people behind it obviously took their punters for granted and always assumed bigger was better. A fool's choice as you'll see the events that have success year on year like green man, end of the road and to a lesser extend glastonbury are the ones that keep their capacities static and arent always trying to grow.

festival no 6 tried to get bigger too quickly and look what happened....

Glastonbury has only stopped growing because it had to. It was continually growing since it started until reaching its current capacity (in 2007?)

Edit: it's probably the reason all the other festivals think they can keep growing.

Edited December 18, 2016 by stuartbert two hats

[Tommy101]

20 hours ago, Memory Man said:

The people behind it ...  always assumed bigger was better.

I think the assumption that bigger is more profitable was the grander mistake.

Perhaps because they had such momentum in the earlier years they thought it was going to be a 'if we build it, they will come' situation (where it is a growing site with its magic being continually diluted).

[dentalplan]

21 hours ago, Memory Man said:

festival no 6 tried to get bigger too quickly and look what happened....

What happened?

[Memory Man]

1 hour ago, dentalplan said:

What happened?

they expanded their capacity and that, coupled with terrible weather and some seriously dodgy organisational decisions about their car park (it was on a flood plain....) meant that many cars were damaged by floods and had to be towed away days after the festival closed.

If you google it and look at all the negative comments on their social media you'll see how unprepared they were for seriously bad weather. Everything had to close and the schedule was completely changed. Many will never go again.

[shuttlep]

i went once, maybe in 2007 or 2006

 

it was wet very wet and horrible, O vowed never to go back, it rained for five days, and not just drizzle. you could barely walk. it put my wettest Glasto to shame 

 

I may go back if they have moved

[gmb1992]

As long as they will still do day tickets I'm pretty happy with the move, it's a bit further away for me now but I get sea sick so no ferry is a win! 

[RossTC]

If the lineup is decent i think i'll go, never made it previously due to shit experiences at the IOW festival putting me off.

[guypjfreak]

Let's hope if it's hot they don't park the cars to close if it's a hot year.............. Bit scary when you think about it.. 

[OG]

7 hours ago, shuttlep said:

i went once, maybe in 2007 or 2006

 

it was wet very wet and horrible, O vowed never to go back, it rained for five days, and not just drizzle. you could barely walk. it put my wettest Glasto to shame 

 

I may go back if they have moved

I was there that year. The only time i have ever left a festival and that was to go to the nearest laundrette as I had no dry clothes and no chance of getting any on site. Still had a blast though

[Dukeicon]

On 16/12/2016 at 4:18 PM, phillyfaddle said:

Lulworth Castle is a very beautiful location (I've been to Camp Bestival there with the kids 4 or 5 times), but I don't think it has anywhere near the capacity for a 40,000-60,000 Bestival crowd? The roads (lanes) around it couldn't cope with the level of traffic it would generate. IMHO anyway.

The alteration in the Camp Bestival licence that they have applied for, so they can do 2 events per year at Lulworth Castle, is for 35,000 public sales with a max capacity of 49,999 (this is for staff, artists, etc).

https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/media/218739/BE17---Event-Management--Operations-Plan-Bestival-2017-v1/pdf/BE17_-_Event_Management___Operations_Plan_Bestival_2017_v1.pdf

 

New Site plan as well if you are interested.

https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/media/218734/Appx-B---Site-Plan-Bestival-2017/pdf/Appx_B_-_Site_Plan_Bestival_2017.pdf