V Festival
V Festival | |
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File:V festivallgoo.jpg | |
Genre | Rock, Pop |
Dates | 2nd last weekend of August (2 days) |
Location(s) | England |
Years active | 1996 - present |
The V Festival is an annual rock festival in England, the first to be held simultaneously at two sites - currently Hylands Park in Chelmsford, Essex and Weston Park in Staffordshire. Originally, the festival took the name of the current year, with the first festival "V96". It discarded its year specific name in 2003 since it has been known as simply the V Festival.
The "V" represents the Virgin Group, and began as another means of promoting Richard Branson's companies. The event is sponsored by Virgin Mobile, with Virgin Radio the official radio station.
The festival generally takes place during the penultimate weekend of August. Its critics dislike its corporate sponsorship and reputation for being the most "posh" of the major British music festivals. However its weekend format, low queuing times and professional organisation have given it a loyal audience. The festival sold out in record time in 2005.
Although predominantly rock music, the festival books a wide range of music and is probably the most likely amongst UK festivals to book some pop acts each year. Mel C, Dido, and N.E.R.D. have all performed at the festival. V showcases a mix of British and international musicians, from up-and-coming bands such as Coldplay in 2000 and the Kaiser Chiefs in 2003 to veteran crooner Tony Christie.
2006 V Festival
The 11th Festival which will take place from Saturday 19th August through until Sunday 20th August. Tickets for the festival have been on sale since Monday 27th February, exclusively to Virgin Mobile customers. Tickets are to go on general sale on Friday 3rd March.
V Stage
Other stages
- Editors
- Kasabian
- Fatboy Slim
- Groove Armada.
- Magic Numbers
- The Feeling
- The Charlatans
- Starsailor
- Sugarbabes
There will be several stages, with the biggest acts performing on the V Stage and the second stage. Other 'smaller' acts will perform in the JJB Arena and 2 unnamed arenas. [1]
2005 V Festival
The 10th V Festival took place from Saturday 20th August to Sunday 21st August 2005, headlining with Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, and Scissor Sisters. Performing acts included:
V Stage (Main stage)
- Oasis
- Scissor Sisters
- Franz Ferdinand
- The Streets
- Jet
- Maroon 5
- Athlete
- Embrace
- Idlewild
- Tony Christie
- Joss Stone
- The Zutons
- Goldie Lookin' Chain
Channel 4 (Second) Stage
- The Prodigy
- The Chemical Brothers
- Kaiser Chiefs
- The Hives
- Thirteen Senses
- Doves
- The Music
- The Bravery
- The Magic Numbers
- KT Tunstall
- The Ordinary Boys
JJB-PUMA Arena
Other Acts
History
Notable perfomers from 2004 included Muse, Dido, Starsailor, The Pixies, N.E.R.D., and The Strokes. 2003 saw possibly the greatest headliners in V festival history - the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Coldplay.
See also
External links
- Official site
- virginbrand.com Unofficial blog of the Virgin Group
- Photos from recent V Festivals at Chelmsford
- A free for all UK festival-goers archive of photographs