Download Festival is the spiritual home of rock and metal – that we cannot dispute. For this year’s festival they have the fans in mind with a wide range of changes!
Have a read below at the improvements you will be able to see between June 12-14.
The Village
First off, the village is now even closer to the arena and will be located on the hardstanding tarmac lake.
Campsites
The campsites are also closer now, with a maximum of a 25 minute walk between the arena and campsites – much better on our aching feet after a day in the pits!
Merch
There will now be longer merch stands in the arena (13 metres more to be exact) and more staff on them. This is hoped to shorten the queues. There will also be a merch stand in the guest area and the one thing we are most excited for… a MERCH SUPERSTORE in the campsite village!
Planet Saving
Last year the festival cut single use plastic, this year, they’re using 100% Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil biofuel to reduce carbon emissions by a huge 60%!
Vegans
There has always been a wide variety of food at Download but this year, the vegan options are set to increase further.
Melvin Benn, Festival Republic MD says;
“Download is a festival like no other, the audience is as essential as a headliner and we’re excited to bring these site changes to the 2020 festival for better customer experience. The new location of The Village is incredibly exciting as we have made use of the hardstanding tarmac lake. What’s equally exciting is the merch superstore that will be located here, with plenty of options to commemorate the weekend. The new Castle Donington Bypass has allowed us to introduce a third carpark for those coming from the North, and all these site changes have reduced walking times across the site.
The legacy of Download deserves to be celebrated so we will be burying a time capsule on site during Download weekend. Artists will add to it, and I would love for Downloaders to be involved by suggesting items to include and becoming a part of history. Here’s to a great 2020.”
The new campsites are also able to be renamed by the fans and you can pick the names here.
Greenpeace’s Eco Campsite also returns for its third year, with 100% of tents taken away in the previous two years.
Inspired by Iron Maiden performing their Legacy of the Beast Tour, Download will be celebrating the festivals legacy with a time capsule burial on the hallowed grounds of Donington. Download will be calling on its line up of legends across the weekend to contribute to the time capsule and make their mark on the Download Festival legacy, Downloaders will also be able to suggest what can be included and have the chance to add their own bit of history. May 2078 will see the resurfacing date, marking 75 years since the very first Download Festival!
Inside the arena itself, The Dogtooth Stage has a reputation to host some of the best talent around, with the tent overflowing from overwhelming popularity within recent years and to reflect this, organisers will be increasing capacity from 2890 to 4050.
Festival Republic have worked with Attitude is Everything since 2001. Download Festival signed up to the Attitude is Everything Charter of Best Practice in 2017 and currently holds the Gold Award within the charter. The Accessible Campsite remains on the same hardstanding location. The Accessible Campervan space has moved to a flatter more accessible location and the space for campervans has increased by 42% to over 100 spaces for 2020.