Sonisphere 2011

Hertfordshire's Knebworth House offers a weekend of Rock, Metal, Electro, and Punk with three days of noise for 60,000 and is confirmed as happening from Friday 8th until Sunday 11th July 2011.

Line-up

The Big 4 - Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax headline Friday night, Biffy Clyro Saturday and Slipknot Sunday. Other acts confirmed are Limp Bizkit, The Sisters of Mercy, Bill Bailey, Bad Religion, Cavalera Conspiracy, Sylosis, Richard Cheese, The Answer, Cancer Bats, Paradise Lost, You Me At Six, Sum 41, House of Pain, All Time Low, Fozzy, The Mars Volta, Opeth, Killing Joke, F Kids in Glass Houses, Gallows, Diamond Head, Motorhead, Mastodon, In Flames, Parkway Drive, Volbeat, Gojira, InMe, Protest The Hero, Four Year Strong, The Black Dahlia Murder, Black Tide, Watain, Firewind, Rise To Remain, and more. For the line-up details day and stage splits, as available please click here.

The event has one main arena with a stage at either end of the site, as well as a few smaller stages. The two main outdoor stages, will have around a dozen acts alternating between one stage and another to keep the music continuous, whilst not having two acts playing at the same time.

Two minute silence & remembrance book

At 2pm on the Sunday, a two minute silence, led from the Saturn Arena stage, will fall over the whole arena and all the stages, so fans can pay tribute to Slipknot's bass player Paul Gray. Fans will also be able to leave a more personal tribute in the book of rememberance that will be left at the Metal Hammer signing tent for the duration of the weekend. The giant, leather-bound book will be open to those who wish to leave their own obituaries, thoughts or drawings, from midday to midnight each day. The book will be passed to Slipknot at the end of the festival on Sunday night.

Tickets

Weekend tickets are priced at £170 with camping with three-day non-camping tickets are available from £145. And early arrival - Thursday - camping entry ticket (making it a four day weekend) is priced at an extra £10.

A campervan pass is priced at £45, a locker is priced at £11, and a car park ticket is priced at £ 10, or £20 on the day.

A non-refundable deposit scheme is also running to allow festival-goers to secure their tickets now for £50 each, with the balance payable by 1st March 2011.

To buy tickets from Seetickets, click here.

Free overseas festival tickets

This year, early-bird ticket buyers have the choice of not one, but three extra festivals abroad. Ticket buyers will be able to apply for either a free ticket for Sonisphere in Poland plus a free ticket for Sonisphere Czech Republic, or a free ticket for Austria’s Nova Rock Festival on 11-13th June, - where System Of A Down will play alongside Sick Of It All and Volbeat. Free tickets are subject to availability and will be issued on a first come first served basis.

Entry to the festival will now be free of charge for under 12s. Parents should purchase their own tickets and then take their child with them to the Box Office on arrival to be issued with a complementary wristband. Please note that proof of age may be asked for. Sonisphere has abolished booking fees for ticket buyers.

Bohemia

The Bohemia area houses the smaller stages, running later than the main stages, it offers breaking acts, some cutting edge stuff, and a few surprises with things like Rock Karaoke (main night Thursday between 5pm and 8pm and again between 10pm and midnight), Guitar Hero, cinema, stunt shows, Silent disco (Bohemia Stage Tent on Thursday from midnight to 3am and in the Red Bull Tent on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11pm till 2am), fairground rides, and DJs until the early hours.

New for 2011

There's a brand new pub stage in the Bohemia bar on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for Alternative Karaoke. Also appearing here will be Lord Sinclair who will be bringing heavy metal bingo to the pub stage on Saturday from 3pm with exclusive prizes on offer including tickets to Sonisphere 2012.

The Sonisphere Rock Quiz will take place at the Bohemia Bar from midday on the Sunday, teams can enter to win prizes. Team numbers will be limited so get to the info tent (in its new location by the Bohemia bar) by 6pm on Saturday to register your team.

The bar will also be hosting The Curse of the Bohemia Bar Comedy Show with Stephen Hill, Mark Garnell and a load of their friends from 10pm till Midnight on Thursday and 5pm till 7pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The cinema screen this year will be showing footage from last year's festival. This will be shown on the Saturn screen from midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Campsite

Regular campers will have access to the campsite from 12pm on the Friday, and for a small additional charge, the festival campsite will open for early campers at 3pm on Thursday 5th August, with Bohemia village open from 6pm Thursday right through until 3am Sunday morning, for non-stop fun with white knuckle rides, dodgems, arcades, comedy, massage, bars, market stalls, and cafes to chill out in.

The general campsite has showers (payable on site) and toilets, a 24 hour breakfast café plus other food vendors, a 24 hour supermarket, a bar selling cold slabs of beer and cider plus staffed information tents.

Family Campsite

The Family Campsite is specially created to give families extra facilities to make sure all members of the family have a great time, no matter what their age. For 2011 the family campsite is located by the main entrance and next to Fort Knebworth. A family ticket includes unlimited access to the adventure playground during opening hours (times to be confirmed). The Family Campsite will also have its own shower and toilet block. Additionally, people buying family tickets are able to also purchase a pass for the Family Car Park which will be very close to the campsite. Family tickets must be booked in advance.

Campervans

A separate camping field is available for campervans. Each person staying in the campervan must individually have a standard festival ticket (either four day or three day, depending on the day you wish to arrive) plus one Campervan Ticket per campervan. Campervan tickets are limited and must be booked in advance. You may pitch one tent OR awning (of a reasonable size) with each vehicle.

There is a ban on gas within the campsites. However gas attached to a fixed cooking area within a campervan will be permitted.

Lockers

The festival will also have lockers which will have car adapter style sockets in. These can be ordered alongside tickets, although there are limited numbers.

Restricted items

Gas Cookers: There is no gas allowed on site. You can bring disposable BBQs for use in the communal BBQ pits or other solid fuel burners.

Alcohol: you are allowed to bring a reasonable amount of your own alcohol into the campsite but will not be able to take it into the arena. A reasonable amount is seen as a case of beer/cider and a bottle of spirits per person.

Glass: No glass is permitted on site at all.

Coach travel

For coach travel to Sonisphere click the following link to buy tickets with National Express.

On tour

Sonisphere will also going on the road, touring Europe, visiting countries throughout Europe in the run-up to Knebworth. Dates, and countries are still to be announced.

Disabled information

Sonisphere is having an Access Pass scheme which allows comes with Early Entry, Car Parking, Camping pass and a 2 for 1 deal. Buy one and get a Carer free to the festival.

More information will be here when available.

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