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Download Festival
Download Festival is an open-air rock and metal festival held each June since 2003 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England. It is the United Kingdom's largest rock festival, with more than 100 bands playing on several stages and 75,000–80,000 attendees in recent years. The site covers around 900 acres (360 ha) and includes a large 'village' area with stalls, bars and entertainment. It surrounds Donington racetrack and is beside East Midlands Airport. Between 2016 and 2022 it was held in multiple locations as well as Donington: this included Paris (France), Madrid (Spain), Hockenheimring (Germany), Sydney and Melbourne (Australia).
Download was created by Andy Copping as a successor to Monsters of Rock, which had been held at Donington until 1996. Download has hosted some of the biggest rock and metal bands. It is similar to the nearby Bloodstock Festival, but Download is much larger and has a broader range of genres as well as more mainstream acts.
The Download Festival was conceived as a follow-up to the Monsters of Rock festivals which had been held at the Donington Park circuit between 1980 and 1996. The first Download Festival was created by Stuart Galbraith and co-booked by Andy Copping in 2003 in the same location. Download was initially a two-day event, expanding to three days in 2005.
The name Download was chosen for the festival for two reasons. Downloading was a dirty word in the music industry at the time, due to file sharing, and rock is seen as a rebellious genre of music. Download festivals were meant to be Monsters of Rock festivals for the 21st century, also having the internet provide connectivity with its audience.
The 2003 festival tickets included a code that allowed festival-goers to download tracks from bands that had performed. Although this feature was discontinued in later years, the festival organizers have cultivated an online community through the Download Festival Forums. Originally a platform for fans and critics to share their views, the forums have become an integral part of the festival, with regular contributions from festival director John Probyn and promoter Andy Copping. They also facilitate face-to-face feedback through Fan Forum meetings (started in 2006) and organize events such as the Boardie BBQ (from 2006), the Boardie Takeover night (2009), football tournaments, and a pub quiz for R.I.P. campers who arrive on Wednesday night.
When Download began, it took place on the Donington Park circuit infield as had Monsters of Rock. However, in 2008 developments for Formula One meant that the infield was no longer suitable as a festival site. The festival moved to the "Sunday Markets" site to the west of the circuit. Although adequate, numbers were limited and the location of the campsite meant that getting from tents to the arena was quite a hike. 2009 saw the arena move to a much more suitable location to the south of the circuit and has remained there every year since. In 2019 the capacity was 111,000. Security for the festival has constantly been undertaken by professional crowd management specialists Specialized Security, although the campsite area has had various contractors throughout.
From 2009 to 2019 and returning in 2021, there has been on-site radio broadcasting from Rock Radio on 87.7FM. This RSL broadcast has aired music from festival bands, interviews and news to the festival site and the surrounding area, with the signal reaching as far as Nottingham.
The Download Dog is the official mascot of the Download Festival and appears on a wide range of material related to the festival, such as tickets, stage banners, merchandise, marketing, and the official Download website.
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Download Festival
Download Festival is an open-air rock and metal festival held each June since 2003 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England. It is the United Kingdom's largest rock festival, with more than 100 bands playing on several stages and 75,000–80,000 attendees in recent years. The site covers around 900 acres (360 ha) and includes a large 'village' area with stalls, bars and entertainment. It surrounds Donington racetrack and is beside East Midlands Airport. Between 2016 and 2022 it was held in multiple locations as well as Donington: this included Paris (France), Madrid (Spain), Hockenheimring (Germany), Sydney and Melbourne (Australia).
Download was created by Andy Copping as a successor to Monsters of Rock, which had been held at Donington until 1996. Download has hosted some of the biggest rock and metal bands. It is similar to the nearby Bloodstock Festival, but Download is much larger and has a broader range of genres as well as more mainstream acts.
The Download Festival was conceived as a follow-up to the Monsters of Rock festivals which had been held at the Donington Park circuit between 1980 and 1996. The first Download Festival was created by Stuart Galbraith and co-booked by Andy Copping in 2003 in the same location. Download was initially a two-day event, expanding to three days in 2005.
The name Download was chosen for the festival for two reasons. Downloading was a dirty word in the music industry at the time, due to file sharing, and rock is seen as a rebellious genre of music. Download festivals were meant to be Monsters of Rock festivals for the 21st century, also having the internet provide connectivity with its audience.
The 2003 festival tickets included a code that allowed festival-goers to download tracks from bands that had performed. Although this feature was discontinued in later years, the festival organizers have cultivated an online community through the Download Festival Forums. Originally a platform for fans and critics to share their views, the forums have become an integral part of the festival, with regular contributions from festival director John Probyn and promoter Andy Copping. They also facilitate face-to-face feedback through Fan Forum meetings (started in 2006) and organize events such as the Boardie BBQ (from 2006), the Boardie Takeover night (2009), football tournaments, and a pub quiz for R.I.P. campers who arrive on Wednesday night.
When Download began, it took place on the Donington Park circuit infield as had Monsters of Rock. However, in 2008 developments for Formula One meant that the infield was no longer suitable as a festival site. The festival moved to the "Sunday Markets" site to the west of the circuit. Although adequate, numbers were limited and the location of the campsite meant that getting from tents to the arena was quite a hike. 2009 saw the arena move to a much more suitable location to the south of the circuit and has remained there every year since. In 2019 the capacity was 111,000. Security for the festival has constantly been undertaken by professional crowd management specialists Specialized Security, although the campsite area has had various contractors throughout.
From 2009 to 2019 and returning in 2021, there has been on-site radio broadcasting from Rock Radio on 87.7FM. This RSL broadcast has aired music from festival bands, interviews and news to the festival site and the surrounding area, with the signal reaching as far as Nottingham.
The Download Dog is the official mascot of the Download Festival and appears on a wide range of material related to the festival, such as tickets, stage banners, merchandise, marketing, and the official Download website.