Hyde Park 2013

[Muppetmark]

I've not had an e-mail or anything. They are saying they will still be sent but they are waiting on more tickets from the promoter allegedly.

What i dont understand is the fact that they have sent out tickets for the following week and the tickets are identical, surely they would send out all the ones for the first date first?

[fatmess81]

I'm still waiting from Seetickets for the stones for the second week, but when I checked my ticket status the day it says they're being printed and dispatched soon.

[stu150]

They changed to processing tickets around 6pm tonight. Hopefully get them tomorrow/Wednesday

[Caglady]

For anyone looking for last-minute tickets for Saturday (box office collection only):

http://barclaycardbritishsummertime.frontgatetickets.com/order.php

[Muppetmark]

apparently the stones are only on for 90 minutes.

edit: especially as bloody bon jovi get 175.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Muppetmark

[wbarenno]

apparently the stones are only on for 90 minutes.

edit: especially as bloody bon jovi get 175.

[wbarenno]

8.30 till 10.15 according to the official site.

With the curfew being a strict 10.30 i can see them going up to that time

[Stuart1000]

apparently the stones are only on for 90 minutes.

edit: especially as bloody bon jovi get 175.

[Muppetmark]

but surely they could just start the stones earlier. it's more than a pound a minute.

[LondonTom]

Cheap tickets on amazon local for the other gigs besides Stones ...by cheap I mean half price

http://local.amazon.co.uk/East-London/B00DQS80MS#options

Tempted for the Elton Joh day until I remembered what a disaster Hyde Park is sound wise.

[Caglady]

Anyone know what the policy is for bridge cameras (Lumix FZ45) at Hyde Park events? I know DSLRs aren't permitted. I contacted the promoter several days ago but am yet to receive a reply.

[Caglady]

We're did you hear this?

Is there any stage times out yet?

[GuitarManDan15]

I've heard differently time-wise. I was offered to work backstage and was told I would finish as the stones start, with the shift finish being at 9pm and they would play till 10.30

[wbarenno]

Great gig last night ,loved how they had set everything up in hyde park.the sound was great for me aswell all though i was quite close to the front.

[Muppetmark]

Great gig last night ,loved how they had set everything up in hyde park.the sound was great for me aswell all though i was quite close to the front.

[The Fella]

Just to say, having been to the British Summertime Stones gig yesterday, I wanted to make a couple of comments.

Firstly, The Stones were excellent, every bit as good as reported - brilliant set played with real energy and enthusiasm. Amazing!

The sound was much better than previous Hyde Parg gigs - still not as loud as I would have liked, but a definite improvement.

Also like the layout, the new stage, all the screens, food and drink options - even the toilets were far better!

On the downside the place seemed to be heaving from mid afternoon, with massive queues forming for all the food options and bars. The 'other' stages were all tiny, filling to capacity very early on and not really providing any decent alternative to the main stage.

My biggest issue, however, had to be the tiered viewing areas. Not sure if this was just for the Stones or a Summertime festival idea, but unless you had paid top dollar for a tier 1 or 2 ticket, you were stuck behind a barrier way back from the stage. Yes, there was a tiny area to the left of the stage where you could get closer, but this just wasn't an option unless you were one of the first in and willing to stand in one place all day. This really isn't in the festival spirit, and meant if you wanted a comfortable position out of the usual front of stage scrum, you had to stand way back near one of the, admittedly good, screens.

So, bit of a mixed bag for this new festival. Keep the sound, improve bar and food queues, bigger second stage and no tiered ticketing, and they could be on to something good!

[Muppetmark]

Just to say, having been to the British Summertime Stones gig yesterday, I wanted to make a couple of comments.

Firstly, The Stones were excellent, every bit as good as reported - brilliant set played with real energy and enthusiasm. Amazing!

The sound was much better than previous Hyde Parg gigs - still not as loud as I would have liked, but a definite improvement.

Also like the layout, the new stage, all the screens, food and drink options - even the toilets were far better!

On the downside the place seemed to be heaving from mid afternoon, with massive queues forming for all the food options and bars. The 'other' stages were all tiny, filling to capacity very early on and not really providing any decent alternative to the main stage.

My biggest issue, however, had to be the tiered viewing areas. Not sure if this was just for the Stones or a Summertime festival idea, but unless you had paid top dollar for a tier 1 or 2 ticket, you were stuck behind a barrier way back from the stage. Yes, there was a tiny area to the left of the stage where you could get closer, but this just wasn't an option unless you were one of the first in and willing to stand in one place all day. This really isn't in the festival spirit, and meant if you wanted a comfortable position out of the usual front of stage scrum, you had to stand way back near one of the, admittedly good, screens.

So, bit of a mixed bag for this new festival. Keep the sound, improve bar and food queues, bigger second stage and no tiered ticketing, and they could be on to something good!

[johnwi77]

I'm not a big festival-lover, and tend to just go just because I want to see specific bands, so I had tickets at the weekend purely to see the Stones. Like everyone else, I thought the Stones were great - as did my 17-year old daughter, who wasn't overly familiar with much of their history or back catalogue. However, other than their 2 hours, I found the rest of the day pretty depressing. Maybe it's just me being a miserable git - but I have been to Download and HRC a few times (including last week) and enjoyed them. Maybe some people are more experienced, but I've never been to an all-day festival where NO food was allowed to be brought in. We ended up eating our sandwiches as we approached the front of the queue, and had some 'discussion' with the stewards doing the bag searches, eventually managing to get in with some fruit pastilles and apples. (Really sticking it to the Man eh!) They also didn't even seem to know the rules themselves, as one steward wanted to confiscate small cartons of blackcurrant juice, until his colleague said they were probably ok. Maybe I should have been aware of the food restrictions beforehand, but I probably would have argued anyway as there is no justification whatsoever. I can agree with a ban on glass, cans and alcohol for safety reasons, but there is only one reason for banning people from taking a sandwich or sweets when entering a venue for up to 11 hours - money. Once we did get in, we found a space at the main stage close to the central walkway, and stayed there all day. Having paid £100 each just to see a rock'n'roll band, as I imagine everyone had, it was a little strange to sit in total silence amongst people on (empty) picnic blankets all day, with no music between the bands! Until 6:45, the only 'entertainment' between acts was a Barclaycard promo, where we were encouraged to smile because we were all having such a great time. There wasn't even any introduction for the bands, who simply wandered on and started playing to a crowd who weren't aware. It was easy to feel sorry for these bands. Although they were all ok at what they did, apart from Gary Clark Jr none of them seemed to have been picked particularly to appeal to a Stones crowd (unlike for example HRC which does seem to generally pick relevant supporting acts). Again, I suspect the line-up was governed more by finance rather than giving any thought to the ticket-buyers.

Other people have mentioned the sound. Although the repositioning of the stage allowed for the sound to be louder than HRC to prevent upsetting the precious neighbours (who obviously don't expect to hear noise in the centre of London on a Saturday evening), the sound near us was far from perfect. Although we were close to the centre in front of the sound desk, I found it difficult to hear the guitars at all, but the main problem was that the monitors on the walkway were a nightmare. Whenever they were turned on, there was such a delay that it sounded like we were getting the sound from another stage. People were looking round to see where the other music was coming from. This was never fixed - possibly the reason why the walkway was mainly only used by Jagger.

So, the Stones were great, but I felt like the organisers didn't give a damn or have a clue about the music or the public if it didn't involve making money or raising the profile of the sponsors. For anyone thinking of going to one of these events simply for a day out rather than wanting to see a particular band - save your money and go sit in your garden or another park, with your own food and some music to listen to. If this festival carries on next year, I won't be there (praying that they don't manage to get a line-up including a Faces reunion, Springsteen and Neil Young, with Tom Waits persuaded to do a unique festival appearance).

[Muppetmark]

I'm not a big festival-lover, and tend to just go just because I want to see specific bands, so I had tickets at the weekend purely to see the Stones. Like everyone else, I thought the Stones were great - as did my 17-year old daughter, who wasn't overly familiar with much of their history or back catalogue. However, other than their 2 hours, I found the rest of the day pretty depressing. Maybe it's just me being a miserable git - but I have been to Download and HRC a few times (including last week) and enjoyed them. Maybe some people are more experienced, but I've never been to an all-day festival where NO food was allowed to be brought in. We ended up eating our sandwiches as we approached the front of the queue, and had some 'discussion' with the stewards doing the bag searches, eventually managing to get in with some fruit pastilles and apples. (Really sticking it to the Man eh!) They also didn't even seem to know the rules themselves, as one steward wanted to confiscate small cartons of blackcurrant juice, until his colleague said they were probably ok. Maybe I should have been aware of the food restrictions beforehand, but I probably would have argued anyway as there is no justification whatsoever. I can agree with a ban on glass, cans and alcohol for safety reasons, but there is only one reason for banning people from taking a sandwich or sweets when entering a venue for up to 11 hours - money. Once we did get in, we found a space at the main stage close to the central walkway, and stayed there all day. Having paid £100 each just to see a rock'n'roll band, as I imagine everyone had, it was a little strange to sit in total silence amongst people on (empty) picnic blankets all day, with no music between the bands! Until 6:45, the only 'entertainment' between acts was a Barclaycard promo, where we were encouraged to smile because we were all having such a great time. There wasn't even any introduction for the bands, who simply wandered on and started playing to a crowd who weren't aware. It was easy to feel sorry for these bands. Although they were all ok at what they did, apart from Gary Clark Jr none of them seemed to have been picked particularly to appeal to a Stones crowd (unlike for example HRC which does seem to generally pick relevant supporting acts). Again, I suspect the line-up was governed more by finance rather than giving any thought to the ticket-buyers.

Other people have mentioned the sound. Although the repositioning of the stage allowed for the sound to be louder than HRC to prevent upsetting the precious neighbours (who obviously don't expect to hear noise in the centre of London on a Saturday evening), the sound near us was far from perfect. Although we were close to the centre in front of the sound desk, I found it difficult to hear the guitars at all, but the main problem was that the monitors on the walkway were a nightmare. Whenever they were turned on, there was such a delay that it sounded like we were getting the sound from another stage. People were looking round to see where the other music was coming from. This was never fixed - possibly the reason why the walkway was mainly only used by Jagger.

So, the Stones were great, but I felt like the organisers didn't give a damn or have a clue about the music or the public if it didn't involve making money or raising the profile of the sponsors. For anyone thinking of going to one of these events simply for a day out rather than wanting to see a particular band - save your money and go sit in your garden or another park, with your own food and some music to listen to. If this festival carries on next year, I won't be there (praying that they don't manage to get a line-up including a Faces reunion, Springsteen and Neil Young, with Tom Waits persuaded to do a unique festival appearance).

[johnwi77]

Glad you enjoyed the Stones and seem to agree with some of my whinges. It's good to hear it wasn't just me being a miserable old git then. A rare appearance from the Stones, and a return to Hyde Park after 44 years and one day - and the organisers managed to remove any atmosphere from the event. That takes some doing, and for me, it left a pretty sour taste.

[Muppetmark]

Glad you enjoyed the Stones and seem to agree with some of my whinges. It's good to hear it wasn't just me being a miserable old git then. A rare appearance from the Stones, and a return to Hyde Park after 44 years and one day - and the organisers managed to remove any atmosphere from the event. That takes some doing, and for me, it left a pretty sour taste.

[mrtourette]

Despite what the orgainsers say these gigs are really just concerts for a specific act rather than a festival, so you're always going to have the vast majority of ticket sales going to people who are solely interested in the main act (especially for a band like the Stones who are in demand). Maybe the ones that are selling badly (ie all the others I imagine) will have more people there for a day out rather than just for the main band but I can't see how that would improve the atmosphere much.

[LondonTom]

The stones wanted the layout to change so tier 3 were at the front, and from what ive heard on other sites you could get in the front section till quite late. The tiers seem to be something BST insist on, but quite a lot of fans with more money than sense like it because they get guarenteed decent spots. Furthermore it keeps the price down because finding 5 mill to pay the stones must not have been that easy.

[Muppetmark]

Fixed

[Stuart1000]

Elton John has pulled out due to appendicitis.

Full refund if you've already bought a ticket but the rest of the day's acts will still perform. Remaining tickets are available for free from the BST website.