Dig out your rain boots, festival season is almost here. The UK has an admittedly incredible summer festival scene, attracting the world’s biggest artists to a multitude of locations across the country. 2015 saw Kanye West dominate Glastonbury Festival, Mumford & Sons headline Reading & Leeds, and global megastar Taylor Swift perform at Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Believe it or not, 2016 is set to be an even bigger year for the UK’s festival-goers. Read below to discover which festivals we think will make the biggest splash this summer.
Number Five: Download Festival.
Download Festival has been a staple of the British summer since 2003. The annual rock and metal festival is held at Donington Park in Leicestershire each June; this year, Download will take place over the weekend of June 10th—12th. 2016 boasts a metal-heavy line up, featuring headline sets from Rammstein, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath. The weekend will also see performances from Korn, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, and All Time Low over four stages. More line up details and information on how to purchase tickets can be found on the Download website.
Number Four: Latitude.
As the UK’s most family oriented festival, Latitude hosts a bill of musicians, comedians, theatre companies, and poets at Henham Park each year. The festival will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2016, taking place over the weekend of July 14th—17th. Latitude is known for it’s continental approach, this year featuring the acclaimed poet Molly Naylor alongside musical headliners The Maccabees, New Order, and The National. Russell Howard and Josh Widdecombe will be taking to the comedy stage, with many more acts are still to be announced. Visit the Latitude website to find out more about this year’s event.
Number Three: Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
Radio 1’s Big Weekend is where the UK’s festival season starts. Changing location each year, the festival endeavours to bring the world’s biggest artists to areas out of the musical loop. This year, the BBC are sending the festival to Powderham Park, Exeter over the weekend of May 28th—29th. This year’s line up features performances from the world’s biggest artists; these include Coldplay, Bastille, Bring Me The Horizon, Biffy Clyro, and twenty one pilots. Tickets are all sold out for this year’s Big Weekend, but you can find information on how to win tickets on the Radio 1 website.
Number Two: Reading & Leeds.
Reading & Leeds festival has dominated the rock side of the British summer since 1989. The event rotates between two locations—Branham Park in Leeds and Richfield Avenue in Reading—over the UK’s August bank holiday weekend. This year, the weekend falls between the 26th—28th August. Over 70 artists were announced last week, adding to an eclectic line up featuring Disclosure, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, and The 1975. Reading and Leeds is set to be an incredible weekend—tickets are still available for this event from the festival’s website.
Number One: Glastonbury.
Last but not least, Glastonbury is the crown jewel of the UK’s festival season. This legendary festival has taken place at Worthy Farm, Somerset since 1971. It’s the atmosphere which sets Glastonbury apart from other UK festivals: it isn’t just about the music. Glastonbury boasts an assortment of entertainment fixtures, including a circus, fairground, and “Kidzfield” area for children. Glastonbury might think outside the box, but 2016’s musical bill is still outstanding. The festival will see headline sets from Adele, Coldplay, and Muse, alongside performances from Beck, Madness, and M83 amongst many others. Sadly this year’s event sold out in minutes, but to find out more about the festival’s history and line up visit the Glastonbury website.
