Bestival moves to Dorset's Lulworth Castle

Bestival 2017

Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th September 2017
Lulworth Castle, Lulworth, Dorset, BH20 5QS, England MAP
£195 adult weekend (+booking fee)

Daily capacity: 35,000

Organisers of Bestival 2017 have announced on their Facebook page, (here), that the event is relocating across the Solent at Lulworth Castle in Dorset. The home of sister event Camp Bestival.

The statement from Rob da Bank reads, "Hot off the press – yes Bestival is moving! We can confirm we have submitted a licence application for a new site at the Lulworth Estate in Dorset and we’re super excited about our shiny new Bestival adventure. We have an incredible line-up, headliners confirmed and ridiculous new stages and installations coming your way in 2017.

"We remain fully committed to supporting the Isle of Wight through music, charities and projects and will be giving Islanders an exclusive ticket offer for the new site. Plus we’re working towards a new event for the Island. Watch this space…"

Bestival organisers have applied for a licence to stage the four-day event at a new site this coming September. The team behind the multi-award winning event, which has been held on the Isle of Wight for the past 13 years, have submitted comprehensive plans to Purbeck Council and have now entered a 28-day consultation period.

The event has shrunk in size with the move and will now have a capacity of 35,000 festivalgoers, with the applied for licence for 49,999 including staff, artists etc.

The event’s organisers plan to hold Bestival at the Lulworth Estate in Dorset, on the same site as its family-oriented sister show, Camp Bestival. Each festival will however remain distinct and separate events. Camp Bestival celebrates its tenth anniversary at the Lulworth Estate in July 2017 and the promoters are confident that their decade strong relationship with Lulworth and the significant amount of time and creativity they have invested into the site will make Bestival’s move a positive one for both the event and festivalgoers.

Dave Grindle, Operations Director, Loud Sound, added, "Taking Bestival to a new site is an exciting undertaking for everybody involved. It’s a fantastic opportunity for Loud Sound to manage the logistics of two different shows at the Lulworth Estate. The extensive knowledge we’ve gained of the site and the surrounding area over the past decade will help us deliver two unique events while minimising any disturbance to local residents."

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Early bird tickets are priced at £175 for Adult Tickets and £115 for Teen (age 13-17) Tickets. Tickets for children (age 12 & under) are free (but must have a ticket). A campervan ticket is priced at £85 (per vehicle), and car parking is priced at £15 advance. A Wild Copse adult tickets is priced at £262.50, a Wild Copse teen ticket is priced at £175, and Wild Copse Child tickets are free. Prices are currently the same for Friday or Thursday entry.

A payment plan is also available.

There are no acts announced yet for Bestival, which will be held from Thursday 7th until Sunday 10th September 2017.

Once again this year Bestival are adding on a £1 charity donation onto all Bestival tickets. The money raised will go directly to the Isle Of Wight Youth Trust (Reg Charity no. 1087163) to help fund their work offering counselling and support to young people aged 25 and under on the Isle of Wight. The Bestival Foundation is also a proud supporter of the Youth Trust.

Bestival's organisers are committed to making the festival as accessible as possible and great efforts are being been made to achieve this. The Lulworth Castle Grounds are predominantly flat and are partially serviced by a network of paths. However, Bestival is an outdoor event utilising fields and farm land that could pose problems, particularly in wet weather. With a little help here and there though it should definitely be manageable even in adverse weather. Bestival provide free tickets for carers to this end. Carers can apply for a free carers ticket and a disabled pass. The Disabled Camping Area is positioned near to the main Robin Hill entrance. Vehicles with a blue badge (or similar) can park in the disabled camping area. It is about 5 minutes from here to the main arena but it should be noted that this journey will be downhill on the way there and uphill on the way back. There are charging points for electric wheelchairs available upon request and disabled toilets onsite. Contact the organisers if you have further questions.

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