Cornbury Festival

[gratedenini]

i reckon they'll be moving to a much cheaper site (so not Blenheim), given that the festival is loss-making.

So that'll be the end of it's 'poshstock' tag, and I reckon without that tag it'll find the going even harder than it is currently.

[rabid]

Well,maybe---but I`m not too sure...moving from Poshstock to Ruffstock might make a positive differences.

Cornbury was a real bugger to get to..and I remember it being one of the longest walks from Camp to Gig (with babies).

How it tightened up from the 1st year as well... as in security, chairs,food stalls etc..i think it put people off.

It is certainly "as bad" as Larmer for the Cardigan Brigade who come out for their once-a-year festy weekend and drink shorts with their little finger cocked.

The very fact that the VIP area was put blatantly in view of the ordinary punters got a lot of punters mocking "the posh people"... didn`t stop us getting in like

Maybe they should try to make it a bit more user friendly.

If its losing money as you say... its probably worth the risk of trying it somewhere else imo.

den

[gratedenini]

How the hell did you manage to blag it as one of the 'posh people'?

[rabid]

Our lass just sw*nked in babbling in German and I followed with the bairns. The reason she wanted to go in,was to "have one of those drinks they were having" Pimms.

I laughed me codds off.

[5co77ie]

more news on the MAMA Group deal with Cornbury Estate here:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/10/101007c.shtml

This is the second time I'm aware of bigger organisations coming in to try and takeover the site of independent festivals, last time it was AEG and GuilFest - http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/08/080924d.shtml .

Edited October 7, 2010 by 5co77ie

[Magic42]

more news on the MAMA Group deal with Cornbury Estate here:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/10/101007b.shtml

This is the second time I'm aware of bigger organisations coming in to try and takeover the site of independent festivals, last time it was AEG and GuilFest - http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/08/080924d.shtml .

[5co77ie]

thanks now corrected.

[shortleg]

How about Ditchley Park as the venue?

Outsiders could be David Cameron's, Jeremy Clarkson's or Rowan Atkinson's back gardens. Or perhaps one stage in each of them.

[Medina]

I see Cornbury are talking of possibly booking Eric Clapton or Kylie Minogue next year. Hmmm.... lots of people talk about possibly booking big names that then fail to materialise.

But that said I wish Hugh Phillimore well at his new site, wherever it may be. Having moved my own festival site several times in recent years I know the problems he will face in effectively starting all over again and having to persuade his audience to move with him. Not all of them will welcome the move to pastures new. Many of them will have liked the original Cornbury site.

It's a worrying trend to see big companies like MAMA and AEG trying to muscle in on medium-sized events like Cornbury and Guilfest. Organisers like Hugh and Tony Scott at Guilfest risk years of hard work and their own cash to create a good festival only for the big boys to try and take it off them.

I'd like to think festival-goers will stay loyal to Hugh at his new site. I was delighted Tony Scott saw off AEG and retained control of his Guilfest. With the Rhythm Festival also moving site next year it looks like being an interesting 2011.

[gratedenini]

It's a worrying trend to see big companies like MAMA and AEG trying to muscle in on medium-sized events like Cornbury and Guilfest. Organisers like Hugh and Tony Scott at Guilfest risk years of hard work and their own cash to create a good festival only for the big boys to try and take it off them.

I'd like to think festival-goers will stay loyal to Hugh at his new site. I was delighted Tony Scott saw off AEG and retained control of his Guilfest. With the Rhythm Festival also moving site next year it looks like being an interesting 2011.

[shortleg]

I can't imagine two festivals the same weekend 10 miles apart both with Cornbury in the name will ever get licensed. A policing/traffic nightmare in that area. Just a recipe for both to fail.

[Medina]

I can't imagine two festivals the same weekend 10 miles apart both with Cornbury in the name will ever get licensed. A policing/traffic nightmare in that area. Just a recipe for both to fail.

[eFestivals]

Re "take-overs" ... looking around...there doesn`t seem to be an abundance of fest sceaming out for a take-over (from a business point of view). Apart from a handful which seem to be "untouchable"...who`d be putting money into any of the rest? Esp in these troubled times.

I'm aware of a well established fest that's currently trying to sell itself to one of the more major operators, but it's a fest with some difficulties. My own guess is that the attempt will come to nothing and the fest will disappear, but I hope not as it would be a definite loss to the festie scene.

But I expect it's a scenario that'll be repeated more regularly over the next five years. Festivals have had a good upturn in the last ten years, but like all things which have a fashionable phase the fashion fades sooner or later, and that impacts on the scene as a whole. Mixed in with that is the 'mainstreaming' of festivals which has led to festivals now being considered safe enough to take your grannie to when people used to be sacked if they told their boss they'd been to a festival, which has driven away to some extent the people who gave festivals their base to grow from, while the mainstreamers don't and won't have the same attachment to keep them going.

I can see difficult times ahead for the festivals that don't have a mainstream line-up, or which don't have enough of their own identity to keep attracting the non-mainstreamers, or which have simply got stuck in a fashion rut when fashion has moved on.

[5co77ie]

The takeover makes more sense now:

http://www.witneygazette.co.uk/news/8715555.Festival_company_s___1_5m_liquidation/?ref=mr

[timespeedsup]

That's unfortunate, especially the charities losing out.

I'd be interested to know whether the alleged £1.2m paid to Paul Simon for his appearance was the going rate, given what's written in that article.

[Medina]

O.K. I know Cornbury has received some bad publicity after losing loads of money in previous years and being labelled "Poshstock' (and worse)... but having just returned from this year's Cornbury Festival in its new location at Great Tew I have to say I enjoyed a fantastic weekend on a gorgeous site with some great music and a host of other entertainment. The organisation was excellent. Plenty of friendly stewards and car park marshals. Good facilities including clean loos. Even the sun shone!

Perhaps worth noting given some of the other comments on this thread is that there were a variety of local stalls including a quite superb Tea Tent where the profits were going to local schools and charities.

Having read all the adverse comments before attending I just felt I had to say this was a seriously top-class festival that ticked all the right boxes this year. Well done.

[Sunny1]

Having read all the adverse comments before attending I just felt I had to say this was a seriously top-class festival that ticked all the right boxes this year. Well done.