The weather has been so cold and miserable lately. Summer seems like a distant dream, which makes it the best time to start planning how to spend those long months of freedom.
The weather has been so cold and miserable lately. Summer seems like a distant dream, which makes it the best time to start planning how to spend those long months of freedom. For many the highlight of summer is the many music festivals held across Europe. Everyone knows about Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds but for those looking for a different festival this summer, here’s a variety of festivals perfect for celebrating the end of exams and the miserable winter.
Benicassim Festival-Valencia, Spain, 18th-21st July
Located by the beach in sunny Spain, Benicassim has four days of music without having to worry about the British rain or mud. The line up so far includes Arctic Monkeys headlining with The Killers and Queen of the Stone Age. Plus Dizzee Rascal, Courteeners, Kaiser Chiefs and Rizzle Kicks are also performing over the weekend. Weekend camping tickets cost £150 with flights around £100 depending on who you book with. It may not be the cheapest festival but it’s definitely better than being knee deep in mud.
Bestival-Isle of Wight, 5th-8th September
Having won best major UK festival in 2010 and Fans’ Favourite Festival in 2011, Bestival is well known for being less corporate than the other festivals. Featuring a fancy dress day (usually on Saturday), festival goers broke the Guinness World Record for having the most people in fancy dress in one place. Elton John, Snoop Dogg, M.I.A, Franz Ferdinand and Bombay Bicycle Club are all in the line up this year. Student tickets with valid NUS card cost £180 giving you entry from Thursday.
Creamfields-Cheshire, 23rd-25th August
Known as the dance music festival it is basically a weekend long party with around 40,000 other revellers. The Prodigy, AVICII and David Guetta are headlining over the weekend with many other DJs performing. It is the perfect festival if you love clubbing and dancing. A 3 day standard camping ticket costs £160 with a 2 day camping ticket costing £140.
Boardmasters-Newquay, 7th-11th August
At Boardmasters, not only can you take in acts including Ben Howard, the Vaccines and Basement Jaxx to name a few but you can also try some surfing or skateboarding all by the beach in Cornwall. All this, plus rides and a weekend of music is only £109 for a camping ticket.
Rock Werchter, Werchter, Belgium 4th-7th July
Green Day, Blur, Kings of Leon, Editors and Vampire Weekend are all performing at this festival, one of the five biggest annual rock festivals in Europe. Attendees from all over the world can top 140,000 over the weekend. On the last night of the weekend, revellers can enjoy a fireworks display. If you want to go abroad this year and go to a festival, why not combine the two? A ticket costs 200 euros (£171.37) with a camping ticket costing 18 euros (£15.42).
Lovebox-Victoria Park, London 19th-21st July
For those who want to enjoy a festival without the camping, Lovebox is set in London and offers 3 days of music in the capital. The line up this year includes Plan B, Goldfrapp, Rudimental and Annie Mac as well as many alternative, less well known acts who may be the next big thing. Tickets start at £29.50 so definitely cheaper than some of the bigger festivals too.
Tramlines-Sheffield, 19th-21st July
A day ticket is only £6 so if you want a festival without spending too much money, this one is for you. It may not have the biggest names performing but it does offer a new music stage, the Peace Garden’s world stage and dance music where hundreds of acts will be performing to over 80,000 people. It was voted the best UK Metropolitan festival in 2011 so why not go along and find out why.
What festivals would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments section below, on Facebook or on Twitter.
