Download Festival have announced major site improvements for their 2020 event.
The Village’s location will move even closer to The Arena, located on the hardstanding tarmac lake which will also be home to Download‘s biggest festival merch superstore for weekend campers. The area will also be home to The Dog House, Hair Of The Dog bar, food stands and the Mind The Dog Mindfulness programming, located minutes away from the Access campsite where access customers can go from their camp to The Village without leaving solid ground.
Alongside new locations for all campsites, walking distances will be decreased and with the new Castle Donington Bypass there will be the addition of an East Car Park. The new campsite locations will mean that festival goers can reach their tents in the furthest campsites from The Arena in just twenty five minutes, compared to the walk of almost an hour in previous years. In addition to this, The Village will now be a central hub between campsites, which can be reached from the majority of campsites in ten minutes or less. Greenpeace’s Eco Campsite also returns for its third year, with 100% of tents taken away in the previous two years.
With the new campsite locations comes a fan re-brand, where you can submit suggestions for names of the six campsites HERE. Entries must be submitted by Monday 9th March and the winning names will be announced via socials on Friday 13th March.
The Arena will also home an increased merchandise stall, with additional staff on hand to aid with size choices to help decrease the queuing time. New for 2020, the Guest Area will also have its own merchandise stand. The Dogtooth Stage will have an increased capacity from 2890 to 4050, to prevent the tent from overflowing as it has done in recent years.
The festival will also become more sustainable onsite, with 100% Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil biofuel to be used that will reduce carbon emissions by a dramatic 60%. There will also be an increased amount of vegan food options available, with over thirty vegan vendors to choose from, as well as over forty vegetarian stalls and thirty gluten free stalls.
Not only this, but the Liftshare car park sold out in 2019, with combined travel saving 16.29 tonnes of CO2 emissions, as well as £20,000 raised for local schools to install solar panels through car park donations. Recycling and composting rates rose from 46% in 2018 to 59% in 2019 with zero waste going to landfill, and 2020 will see bars operating with reuseable cups again. Co-Op’s reverse vending machines will return for a third year, and all water bottles sold will be made from renewable plant-based bottles. On top of that, all water refill points have been redesigned to increase the speed in which water bottles can be filled, now at just three seconds per litre.
Download Festival‘s legacy will also be encapsulated with a time capsule burial on site over the weekend. “The legacy of Download deserves to be celebrated so we will be burying a time capsule on site during Download weekend,” comments Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn. “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.” It has been announced that the time capsule will resurface in 2078, marking 75 years since the very first Download Festival.
