Not sold out, why?

[Boris The Spider]

I've caved.

[jamesbduk]

I bought tickets for the first time in 4 years, and i'm curious to see how (if at all) it's changed.

I think the Festival had been in steady decline for a while, and the change of mainstage location really spoilt it for me...

When i looked at the line up today, it dawned on me that there's only 3-4 acts i want to see all weekend, and i've seen them all before...

Anyway, lower turnout should mean slightly more room in the campsites and arena, so perhaps it's a good thing.

And hopefully fewer shirtless douchebags wandering about, as they had been on the increase up to 2010...

[phil the shrew]

Agree that the reduced numbers this year will probably make it easier to camp and get round the site.

The trouble probably comes next year where lower profits mean less attractive bookings and potentially another decline in ticket sales. Then long term future of the festival comes into question

Unlike other festivals the bottom line with V is its there to make money. No profit no festival.

[SERRIDGER]

Well , after starting this topic these are my thoughts after spending the weekend at Weston Park.

£4.80 for a beer!!! not even a pint just a bottle, no wonder getting a drink was easy

£10 for a programme, free at Glastonbury, why charge fans for the privilege of them finding out what time bands they've already paid nearly £200 to see, are on

Less bars, where have the likes of the Strongbow rooms and Bacardi bar gone? have they pulled out or does V not pay for them anymore in order to increase its profit margin.

£10 to get a shuttle bus, is this the bus company or V fleecing the fans further?

I think as long as V sees festival goers as a none stop gravy train it's ticket sales will reduce; announce the line properly and freeze reduce your prices would be my advice.

[Kris_lcfc]

We went weston. Felt more ripped off this year than ever before. MTV stage bar only did bottles! It's a major stage and they stick a bottle bar there! V healthy also taken out the corner leaving I think 4 food places to choose from. Food vans have declined everywhere else on site as well. £4.80 a drink??? How do they warrant that? £200 ticket, then £20 to park, then as mentioned, a further £10 just to find out who you can see. Been in decline for years but this year it really has shown

[Mr Nasty]

4.80 takes the piss. What was security like this year? Easy to take your own booze in?

[Kris_lcfc]

4.80 takes the piss. What was security like this year? Easy to take your own booze in?

Coming from orange to the gate directly opposite it was like a flipping border control point

[benus80]

Weston park under capacity and down on numbers bull shit! But I do agree with you on there should be more food stores especially in the v heathly area and the program should be free but I am not complaining about the live music on show this year so many good acts especially chic and human league my two fave sets at a festival ever !

[SERRIDGER]

I do think the numbers were down, but then less food stalls etc will mean more open space and contribute to it looking emptier. Apart from the lazy booking of The Killers again I thought it was quite an eclectic line up.

[galbani]

We also went to Weston - again.

And we felt it was very down in numbers this year - and a lot less chavvy as a result.

Last year we bought 'early bird' tickets having missed out the previous year.

We won't be doing that again. And I don't think many others will either...

IF we go next year - it'll be entirely down to the line-up - which will have to be good, very good. And I don't think it will.

It's an expensive weekend and I think I can get better value elsewhere.

Pinkpop in Holland, for example, cheaper, better line-up (in my opinion) and makes for a nice long weekend away.

We also got ripped off by the local Shifnall taxi mafia.... (£10 EACH for a £8 normal fare).

[lorretta]

Well , after starting this topic these are my thoughts after spending the weekend at Weston Park.

£4.80 for a beer!!! not even a pint just a bottle, no wonder getting a drink was easy

£10 for a programme, free at Glastonbury, why charge fans for the privilege of them finding out what time bands they've already paid nearly £200 to see, are on

Well my first v festival and I have to agree with this comment the prices of everything were ridiculous. My other issues were that for me it lacked a lot of what i feel is the festival spirit, i mean costa coffee vans, girls glammed up arriving in hair rollers for perfect hair :-s and while i did enjoy most of the music i saw most were bands i have already seen over the last 12 months elsewhere. I also found there to be very little to do after bands finished, having done both the silent disco (rediculous queues and £20 deposit for headphones :-0) and the cocktail bar on the Friday night I struggled to find anything else to do. After all this I really can't see myself getting tickets for next year unless the acts really do appeal to me!

[lorretta]

Well my first v festival and I have to agree with this comment the prices of everything were ridiculous. My other issues were that for me it lacked a lot of what i feel is the festival spirit, i mean costa coffee vans, girls glammed up arriving in hair rollers for perfect hair :-s and while i did enjoy most of the music i saw most were bands i have already seen over the last 12 months elsewhere. I also found there to be very little to do after bands finished, having done both the silent disco (rediculous queues and £20 deposit for headphones :-0) and the cocktail bar on the Friday night I struggled to find anything else to do. After all this I really can't see myself getting tickets for next year unless the acts really do appeal to me!

Though all this said I had a really good weekend, enjoyed almost every act I saw and met some lovely people, just something missing for me :-(

[lorretta]

Coming from orange to the gate directly opposite it was like a flipping border control point

Tell me about it i not only had every pocket of my bag searched but also my camera case and tiny purse... I clearly must look like a dodgy character as people managed to sneak all sorts in ;-P

[phil the shrew]

Tell me about it i not only had every pocket of my bag searched but also my camera case and tiny purse... I clearly must look like a dodgy character as people managed to sneak all sorts in ;-P

I tried taking in a pork pie last year. Police drugs sniffer dog went mad, everything got searched and took ten minutes to get through! Wouldn't mind but I'm 40 and never done drugs

Agree with thoughts on the festival. Plan it right and you get to see 10 to 15 or more acts over the weekend and assuming you like them that's ok. Trouble is if you don't like the acts or have seen them before there is very little else to see or do

Other festivals offer more diverse line ups and better fringe acts now. Food and drink is much better and cheaper at other festivals too. Really hope V do something about that as it would help the festival no end to be a little less corporate

[Narnia]

Some people on the farm campsite I was staying at said there were tickets going for £50 down the road and even then they weren't shifting them.

[adam1234]

Weston park under capacity and down on numbers bull shit! But I do agree with you on there should be more food stores especially in the v heathly area and the program should be

free but I am not complaining about the live

music on show this year so many good acts especially chic and human league my two fave sets at a festival ever !

Are you seriously questioning the fact that numbers were down at Weston? Are you insane? They took away at least one camping area (silver). There was loads more space in the campsites. And touts couldn't get rid of tickets. Numbers were down by thousands! Edited August 19, 2014 by adam1234

[Hairywookie]

I do agree with those saying that the festival bubble has burst but not to the tune of 30,000 people (which we were told was the figure by those manning the wrist band exchange tent). It hasnt tailed off gradually so much, but gone off a cliff face this year. The massive absence was extremely noteable too...grey (? next to green) camp shut, lots of spaces in green campsite still on Saturday morning, less queuing for beer/toilets in a morning....it was like it was back in 2003 before the 'boom'.

My opinion is that the price has a lot to do with it. The ticket price doubling in ten years doesnt bother me so much as you'd pretty much expect that to some extent with inflation. What does do my head in is being bummed for car parking which has gone up £5 to £20 this year, the beer was also a piss take this year at nearly £5 a pint! I assume that is why security on entry was stepped up this year...in previous years weve sneaked tonnes of booze in but one of us got caught this year due to them doing a full frisk on every other person. Maybe im imagining it but its funny that £30,000 less ticket sales and hiked up beer prices coincides with stepped up security looked for smuggled booze....werent trying to make up for the lost revenue were they?

Furthermore, the line-up I think has much to do with it. People have said about the Killers playing too many times and I agree with this...too many bands are over used at V. I also think the move from indie to pop has a lot to do with it too. It was blatantly obvious the change in demographic in the friday night disco this year...In years gone by, the music played in here. was mostly bands.. now it is all dance stuff (which in my opinion is dog shit lol). The kids who like this music cant afford to be blowing £5 per pint etc, so cant afford to come?...they are aiming for a certain demographic who probably, for the most part, cant afford to pay for the weekend...I know when I was that age I would have struggled to do it. I am dissapointed in the change in the direction of the festival to this kind of music..the first year I went was an amazing line-up and it seems to have slowly gone down hill til now. I always manage to find a few things I like and I always have a great weekend with friends, but in my opinion the line-ups are not a patch on what they used to be.

In my opinion, Justin Timberlake was a bad headliner choice and I heard plenty complain about this. Equally though plenty did watch him, but I noticed when he tried to get the crowd going, nothing came back hardly, as opposed to the Kaiser Chiefs lower down the bill who got the crowd to make lots of noise.... this doesnt happen with bands such as oasis, muse, foo fighters etc.

I think V have got to sit down before next years event and seriously contemplate the downfalls of this year. The poor headline acts may have put many off this year, but the big price hikes perceived by those who did go may put even more of these off next year. I really think they need to pull something big out of the bag for next year and freeze/reduce prices or I fear a big drop in numbers may be seen again.

[TR252]

Were you at Weston Park Hairywookie? I thought the crowd for JT was absolutely fantastic and it was one of the best crowds I've been in at a festival. Met some really great people and everybody was having a great time - there were loads of 'JT JT JT JT' chants!

[Hairywookie]

Were you at Weston Park Hairywookie? I thought the crowd for JT was absolutely fantastic and it was one of the best crowds I've been in at a festival. Met some really great people and everybody was having a great time - there were loads of 'JT JT JT JT' chants!

Yes I was at Weston, and it just seemed very flat to me. Like I say, plenty seemed to turn out for him but lacking atmosphere and I heard plenty of others say this too. There was on point he prompted the crowd to sing the next line of his song and I heard naff all. Maybe I'm stuck on the old 'bands for headliners' thing as per the JayZ/Noel Gallagher Glasto row the other year lol

Edited August 19, 2014 by Hairywookie

[Kris_lcfc]

Yes I was at Weston, and it just seemed very flat to me. Like I say, plenty seemed to turn out for him but lacking atmosphere and I heard plenty of others say this too. There was on point he prompted the crowd to sing the next line of his song and I heard naff all. Maybe I'm stuck on the old 'bands for headliners' thing as per the JayZ/Noel Gallagher Glasto row the other year lol

Me and my wife noticed the flatness of the crowd too. During the killers the majority of it was static, were as 2 years ago they were bouncing nearly all the way to the back

[daniel.k]

Me and my wife noticed the flatness of the crowd too. During the killers the majority of it was static, were as 2 years ago they were bouncing nearly all the way to the back

Everyone was bouncing at Axwell and Ingrosso at Hylands where i was so i didnt realize any bad crowd. Maybe its the people who went to Killers are older and less into bouncing and more into enjoying the music, whereas the A&I crowd were mainly younger when i looked and into having a good time. BIG over generalization but it could explain a little bit

[Kris_lcfc]

Everyone was bouncing at Axwell and Ingrosso at Hylands where i was so i didnt realize any bad crowd. Maybe its the people who went to Killers are older and less into bouncing and more into enjoying the music, whereas the A&I crowd were mainly younger when i looked and into having a good time. BIG over generalization but it could explain a little bit

Read back through the comment. 2 years ago that crowd was electric. This year static, interesting how I'm not the only one saying it, plus everyone at A&I was probably pilled up to the eyeballs

[Rose-Colored Boy]

Killers crowd wasn't dead around me, compared to Chic/Ed/JT (ie the other acts with big crowds) it was a riot

(weston)

Edited August 19, 2014 by Zac Quinn

[SERRIDGER]

so in short

Lazy, weak line up

Rip off prices inside the festival

Better value festivals elsewhere

Let's see what happens next year and if V learns from its mistakes, 30,000 unsold tickets must hit them in the pocket

Thanks for all the contributions

[cdm22]

I would also add its reputation. I know many people put off by the crowd it seems to attract. Last years V facebook page was filled with stories of the place being full of arsehats starting fights, pissing where they stood, and generally being there just to get fucked and sod everyone else if they got in the way and was getting worse with each passing year.

Edited August 21, 2014 by cdm22