Bestival 2016 - how was it for you?

[smogo]

I get people's disappointment about the downsizing of the site, but personally I loved this year's layout. If ticket sales were low, then it's great that the organisers were flexible enough to scale it down so that it never felt quiet.

I loved the line-up too: on Friday night I had a run of Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer, Eskimo Dance, Skepta, Major Lazer, Diplo, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing and Katy B, which was one hell of a good evening. And on Saturday I was really excited for the PC Music showcase followed by Danny L Harle, and they didn't disappoint.

I had such an amazing time from beginning to end (except for the grim weather on Saturday afternoon), and this was one of my favourite Bestivals ever.

[rseamer]

My Bestival was mixed. The 1st 2 days were brilliant but Saturday afternoon I got food poisoning and ended up in the medical centre after being sick several times. I tried to make it out for The Cure, managed 1 song and then threw up again and had to call it quits. I missed all of Sunday and an still unwell today.

However, the rest of my time on site was great. Yes, the site was downsized but to stay in business that's an inevitability if organisers sold less tickets. You can't run a 50,000 capacity event if you've only sold 30,000 tickets - that's £4 million less in the bank.  (I don't know how many they sold but that's my guess). 

To me it felt more like some of the older Bestivals and that's something I enjoyed. I just didn't enjoy puking my guts up from some dodgy food I ate on site.

 

 

 

 

 

[smogo]

Was that from some burrito stand that apparently got closed down? Which one/where was it? Sounds like I dodged a bullet.

[Lucy92]

I managed to get a very mild dose of food poisoning too! Luckily it went pretty quickly. Was my first bestival this year and thought it was great! The only thing that really would have spoilt it for me this year was some of the crowd. A lot of kids taking too many things they shouldn't and getting violent and rowdy. Wouldn't say it was a family festival anymore! 

[rseamer]

12 minutes ago, smogo said:

Was that from some burrito stand that apparently got closed down? Which one/where was it? Sounds like I dodged a bullet.

I don't know. I did have a burrito but that was on Thursday night and I didn't get ill till Saturday afternoon. I'd put it down to the buttermilk chicken burger place in the food hall in the magic meadow but I guess I'll never know

[2853rob]

We had a pretty good time and were already aware of the "downsizing" and come Saturday evening had decided that we would be going to the 2017 event as we had had a lovely family day once it stopped raining. To be honest it was worth it for Eskimo dance on Friday I loved every second of that.

The usual "jungle drums" are spreading doom and gloom on the island but I didn't see any more drink or drugs casualties than previous years. Although we didn't camp so I have no comment on what it was like down there.

Yes there was a lot of cost cutting but with less numbers for the budget to work this was inevitable as there is not a lot of profit in running a festival. Even though Sunday best have had over £1000 out of us this year attending their various events.

So in summary a transition year and roll on 2017

 

 

Edited September 12, 2016 by 2853rob

[rseamer]

10 minutes ago, 2853rob said:

 

The usual "jungle drums" are spreading doom and gloom on the island but I didn't see any more drink or drugs than previous years. 

 

 

Same here.

When I was in the medical tent by the main stage staff there (who were excellent BTW) told me that they'd been busy on Friday night for Major Lazer with lots of kids getting in trouble with drink / drugs but that Saturday (when I was there before The Cure) it was very quiet.

 

[mjsell]

Just got back. Had an absolute blast. Really really enjoyed the whole weekend. Probably my favourite year there so far. 

Yesterday was one of the best festival days I've had. Chilling all afternoon at the spaceport (which I will say would be my only disappointment in terms of scaling back - they definitely had plans for something a bit more lavish I suspect) - sink the pink with Livin Joy and Candi Staton followed by purple rave in the sun surrounded by mates and way too much rum for 9 people was something I'll never forget. 

Felt like I managed to get around and see so much more than usual (minus rainy Saturday). 

One observation I would like to add was that I felt that there was a much bigger security/police presence around the whole site in general with them actively doing more than usual. Saw at least 4 or 5 guys being carted off for selling. Although in contrast to that, far more people selling. 

Think I need to sleep now

[The60ftOctopus]

My first Bestival and I had a great weekend! The weather on Saturday wasn't too bad, and luckily cleared up for the evening. 

I left on the Sunday and spoke to a taxi driver who said they only sold 30,000 tickets this year so don't blame them for scaling things back. The Cure were amazing, so were Glass Animals, Animal Collective, Ride and Spring King. Spaceport was also a lot of fun! Would love one of those astronauts in my garden

[rseamer]

There's a lot of negativity on Facebook about Bestival this year.

I do get the comments about the downscaling and that people feel they haven't got as good value for money - it's something Bestival are going to have to consider for next year - but it does seem that I had a much better time than most of the people reviewing! 

[Cockney_Jesus]

My first Bestival and I had an amazing time! The Cure were incredible, other highlights include Caravan Palace, Craig David & Bastille.

I got to be part of the parade as well which was an absolutely mental experience!

[smogo]

I still counted 22 entertainment venues (anything with a stage and/or decks), which is about normal:

Main Stage
Big Top
Caravanserai

Spaceport
Bollywood
Bulmers Colourena
Cardboard Record Shop

Temple Island
Invaders of the Future
Jägerhaus
Carnivale
Confetti
Rac Shack
Co-op Mix Kitchen

Amphitheatre
Disco Shed
Lost Shack
Gazebo in the Woods
Blind Tiger

People's Front Room
Wishing Tree
STA Travel Hostel
 

Edited September 12, 2016 by smogo

[Paul ™]

Whats with all the corporate shit?

I looked at the site map and was astonished by the amount of sponsored stages... 

[Paul ™]

Just waiting for the 'Red Funnel Main Ferryport Stage' next year!

[Deckard]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. Last year was my first time and I was impressed by the scale and effort put into the site so I was disappointed by the downsizing this year. Especially the Spaceport as a poor replacement for the Port and the much smaller main stage and big top. I loved The Cure but clearly other Bestivallers were not excited and the atmosphere was poor. I suspect Rob is gonne drop some of indie stuff and go more for the party crowd next year.

On a positive note I did enjoy a lot of good music and despite the usual dickheads met some great people. I would go again but sadly will be looking hard at the lineup as there is so much competition at "boutique" size.   

[Richb]

My first Bestival and bloody loved it, by far the best of the 3 festivals I have attended this year, obviously as it was my maiden visit can't judge on how it compared to previous years but having a broad taste in music I liked being able to see Glass Animals, Hinds, Hot Chip, The Cure, Billie Marten, Wolf Alice, Mø, The Human League, Crystal Fighters etc in one weekend so hope they don't cut down the indie element, easily spent as much time at the invaders of the future as the main stage and big top. 

 As the atmosphere went found it very easy going, witnessed very little aggressive behaviour and a huge reduction in flying bottle syndrome compared to other festivals, all in all a really good experience, I always book a festival on the strength of its line up but if it offers similar again in 2017 would def go again  

[Matt - Ed Banger Records]

I didn't go this year because the line up initially didn't have enough to make me trek across to the island, a friend that went had an ok time but felt like some of the sparkle had gone by the lack of 'extras' on site due to the downsizing. He had a moan about it on Twitter and Rob actually got in touch and they met up to chat about things, Rob was really disheartened by the kicking it was getting and told him it was running at a loss this year, he obviously puts his heart and soul into it and I feel bad he's taking a bit of a kicking from some quarters - he gave my mate free tickets for next year and I'm hoping they come back with a bang in 2017

[rseamer]

I saw and spoke to Rob da Bank briefly on Saturday morning and at that stage he told me he was trying to meet up with people who were complaining on social media, which is a nice personal touch. I couldn't imagine the organisers of Reading doing that.

I really do hope that next year they make a success of it. But as Rob da Bank said to me "it's a very competitive market out there" and he's correct. Within just a couple of weeks of Bestival in the south-central area you have Boomtown, End of the Road, Together The People and Victorious. And that's not even considering IOW fest etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Circus-Freak]

Felt short changed. I'm sorry for rob having a hard time of it, all I can think of is, the ticket sales were reflected by the line up. Headliners do seem to be important in a festival.

 

[rseamer]

1 hour ago, Circus-Freak said:

Felt short changed. I'm sorry for rob having a hard time of it, all I can think of is, the ticket sales were reflected by the line up. Headliners do seem to be important in a festival.

 

The reason most of my friends chose not to go this year was line up / headliners. If they decide they want to be a big 50k capacity event again they will have to massively up their game with headliners. But then they're competing with the Reading / Glastonbury type shows which are all far bigger, have more money and have more power in terms of exclusivity clauses in contracts. But if they downsize then they're competing with more specialist boutique events that is a very crowded market with many specialist festivals. Finding the right balance of strong headliners but at mid capacity (40-50k) is a tough call.

[eFestivals]

15 hours ago, Paul ™ said:

Whats with all the corporate shit?

I looked at the site map and was astonished by the amount of sponsored stages... 

have you not been paying attention, Paul? It's always been big on sponsorship.

Rob's sidekick is very well tapped into that world.

[smogo]

Yep, even as far back as 2009 (my first Bestival) there was a Red Bull stage, a Pizza Express, a Sky Arts presence I think, and no doubt certain other big corporate names knocking around.

Is it really that big a deal? The alternative would be to increase ticket prices, surely?

[eFestivals]

15 hours ago, Deckard said:

I suspect Rob is gonne drop some of indie stuff and go more for the party crowd next year.

I suspect that might not make too much of a difference. My thinking is that another festie has sort-of stolen Bestival's crown, in much the same way that Bestival did from The Big Chill, and people have moved on.

Not only that, Bestival always had the natural disadvantage of being on the IoW, where it adds significantly to the cost and hassle of getting there. In many ways I'm surprised it's managed to over-ride that for as long as it has.

It'll be a shame if it's fallen out of favour as it is/was doing a lot that put it a notch above most other fests, but it wouldn't be the first festival to suffer from falling out of fashion.

Edited September 13, 2016 by eFestivals

[smogo]

If that's true then it would probably be Reading/Leeds now that they've started booking lots of recognisable dance and rap acts, though they don't get anything like as deep into those genres as Bestival does.

Whatever happens next year, Glastonbury taking a year out in 2018 ought to be good news for Bestival.

[jackarmy]

7 minutes ago, smogo said:

If that's true then it would probably be Reading/Leeds now that they've started booking lots of recognisable dance and rap acts, though they don't get anything like as deep into those genres as Bestival does.

Whatever happens next year, Glastonbury taking a year out in 2018 ought to be good news for Bestival.

Reading/Leeds a bit, but more likely Boomtown is the one that springs to mind for booking a killer dance lineup.

I remember reading an interview with RDB where he said he was looking to cater for a more "current" crowd (i.e less older acts) - I would imagine that a lot of the older crowd who used to go to Bestival now look to do Camp Bestival, Festival No. 6, or End Of The Road instead...

I think this year definitely missed some of your "wow acts" if that makes sense. It'll take a much better lineup than this one to get me back next year - hopefully this year was just a blip though, and they can come back bigger and better next summer. I know Rob's taken on board lots of feedback both good and bad.