a glorious firework display brings Camp Bestival to a close with a bang

The overcast Sunday morning started with the previously mentioned Mr. Tumble main show, with a field full of children joining in with 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' amongst others - and the kids' weekends were complete. It was then off to the Kids' Garden for Mr Tumble to judge the weekends fancy dress competition of which there were some spectacular entries into the Animal Kingdom theme.

Golden Silvers and their oh-so painfully 80's indie tinged synth pop shouldn't work, but I love them, as do it seems the handful of people leftover from the Mr Tumble performance (a very difficult act to follow at this particular festival). The great new single 'Arrows of Eros' is a nice finish to a great lunchtime set.

Beardyman keeps the crowd happy as we discover that Horace Andy is running late and Dub Pistols will be moved into his slot, when Horace Andy does take to the stage, he's not happy and says that it 'disrespectful' that he's not been introduced properly, not surprisingly his reggae flavoured set is greatly marred.

The rain begins to fall and a line-up of English Ballet, Red Snapper, Marina And The Diamonds, O'Death, and Micachu And The Shapes at the Big Top is expected to draw the crowd undercover for the rest of the festival. It's a big surprise to find the field packed for Will Young, who is clearly in agony after wearing boots that are far too tight. The ladies in the audience yell encouragement, and it's them who provide the voice to many of his pop songs.

Kate Tempest meanwhile is providing a lucid interlude of sharp society infused lyrics on the Bandstand in the rain, to a crowd consisting of many of her peers. The nearby real ale bar provides suitable sanctuary, and starts to look like a refugee camp.

The rain abates for Roots Manuva, and Candi Staton who bring the crowds back out, I was thinking that most would have gone home, but as headliners Chic take to the stage the field is packed, and after Nile Rodgers' guitar problems we're treated to host of covers and his own material. This should not be enjoyable but the fancy dress costumes, clear weather, and classic hits provide a mammoth sing along.

The large crowd hangs on as Rob Da Bank and friends assemble behind the DJ decks to play summery tunes from the likes of Grease and The Beach Boys, accompanied by the Royal Ballet, as the rain comes down. The extravagant firework display provides a welcome distraction, and as it dies away to tremendous applause, so does the rain.

Overall, there are still some minor issues that need to be ironed out for future Camp Bestivals. Running out of programmes late on the Friday (even if they were an extortionate £8, not everybody wants another canvas bag and crayons for the kids!) meant lots of people left with no idea what was on at what time, and far too few rubbish bins left the site in a bit of a state.

The campsite also struggled to cope with the amount of huge tents that some felt necessary to bring to the festival, which restricted the amount of space for others. Parents complained about the fruity language of some of the acts whilst others moaned at the amount of children (and associated buggies) at the event.

I personally think that Camp Bestival needs to decide whether to market itself as a family-friendly music festival or a kids' festival that happens to have some music - otherwise it might just end up pleasing no one.

Latest Updates