Lets talk Bestival, and how it’s the most colourful, shiniest, glittery festival of them all. Whether in sunshine or rain, you’re guaranteed a weekend like no other with a head full of memories and a bunch of new friends on your Facebook feed.
Bestival Weekend With Festicket
Photos by Stephi LaReine, Jessica Holgate & Leigh Travers
We were kindly invited down by the bodacious Festicket to experience the sights and sounds of Bestival. This post is a long one, but worth the read so buckle up for three sensational days of magic.
It’s killer lineup that sent us to the future, with it’s space themed galactic wonder.
After a brief blip getting down we were down Thursday night, and ready to party. After a summer of festivals I was eyes wide to check out the site but my body told me to save it for the rest of the weekend. We stayed in the Boutique Village, where our dolly house Octopad resided, with the weekend feeling especially cushy with sockets and actual beds (raise the roof for charging your phone!). I do highly recommend splashing out on glamping to stay in a rainbow neighbourhood where you can shower down, blow dry the rain away and slurp some coffee.
Honestly you feel like a queen. Why have I never glamped before?
OUTFITS OF THE DAY
Day One
River Island Fringe Bag (similar)
Day Two
Day Three
Dorothy Perkins Bardot Top (similar)
H&M Coachella Flares (similar)
Friday with Festicket started our antics off at the Bollywood stage, the love forms pretty quick in that tent, and before you can blink everyones formed a large line and become Shiva. I adore Bollywood, so my eyes lit up with joy at the sight of a whole field for Bollywood. It’s so uplifting that I now want Jai Ho as my alarm clock.
Our day time adventures took us to MØ, where the crowds were swooping in thick and fast. This was followed up with Years & Years (note the explosion of confetti!) they all came suited and booted in space gear like the rest of the festival. I’ve seen them a few times and always mesmerised how they step up their musical game every festival, utter kudos.
Damian Marley got the Isle Of Wight swooning over his laid back set, and I think this moment epitomised how happy I felt. I love that at Bestival you can walk from one set to the next with a huge smile on your face, as you explore your musical palette by dabbling in genres you’ve never seen before.
Finally our day one was tailed off with Skepta, grabbing a bite to eat, having some rum and exploring the site (because it seriously needs the full weekend to rummage through everything thoroughly!)
The headliner of the night was Major Lazer, super cool, fresh vibes filling the night with memories. Fireworks flying off all around and the site was glowing with life.
So as day one turned into day two, with many talks in our pod-pad of the Chuckle Brothers it was once again the time to get glittered up again, having some breakfast and get our skates on. I made a spectacle of myself flinging glitter around, even into a glass of wine and so it was time to bounce out for another day of acts.
We opened up with the Chuckle Brothers, unfortunately that wasn’t the only thing that opened up, the skies did too with hours of rain. This never stopped anyone from having a good time so a quick taxi ride down to the main stage saw me and Jess miss them and whilst others met them we were dashing off to find a raincoat, stopping off at our buds from Oxfam for a chinwag.
Every day of cooking trusty ol’ Uncle Bens rice for breakfast had us a tad bored so we feasted on Paella from Paelleria (it’s heaven!) we headed off to see Craig David in all his Southampton glory. Despite thinking I knew nothing by him, turns out I knew all of his songs – who’d have thought it?
To say the least he was incredible, 10/10 would see live again.
Black Honey was our next call, you’ll see from my vast archive of festivals Black Honey will feature very heavily and that’s because Izzy is my gal and I personally think everyone could do with a bit of Black Honey in their life.
They’ve also got some bodacious new material hitting your screens soon, so keep a watchful eye for some of their adventures in the desert – sorry not sorry for announcing a cheeky spoiler.
Our Saturday was filled with almost every category of music. I felt like my eyes were opened to so much, although secretly I was counting down the hours to The Cure, Saturday was by far my busiest and best. We were running from set to set to see everyone play. We dashed from Black Honey to catch the tail end of Wolf Alice, I remember watching them when there were few people to see them, and it makes me tear up a tad to see how successful they’ve become. Bestival digged them so much. The day was just getting better and better as the night progressed on.
Finally our night was finished off with my favourite band The Cure. I’ve listened to them since I was very small, and it’s been a humungous influence on my family. It was also my sisters first festival so she was so incredibly excited for The Cure. The last time I had seen them I busted a rib on the barrier at Leeds 2012 because they were so insanely popular. Rumours went round they were to play a 3 hour set, and yes they did the very same. 4 encores later and every song under the sun covered, we were mesmerised. I was delighted I got to see Izzy again and hang. Weekend was utterly made, I’m still buzzing off their set.
Our day three was a very chilled one, technically we didn’t go to see anyone we just flittered around.
Still with tons of the site undiscovered it was time for an adventure to check out the woods, the flower of fire, the petting parlours. I’m begging to go back to have a bounce on the Worlds Biggest Bouncy Castle, and see a couple get married in the Inflatable Church. Jess still hasn’t wiped the smile off her face meeting owls and walking an alpaca. Everyone loves an alpaca, especially Jess.
We had a gorgeous day with Leigh from Fox And Feather as we wrote postcards to ourselves to check our boobs in the Breast Cancer Awareness Boob Cube. Unfortunately as we said ta-ta to her, we winded down and ran off to our pod for a chilled night.
I was monumentally impressed that a wander through the woods took us to the Amphitheater where they had a series of TED talk-esque speeches. We arrived in time for the quiz on global awareness, still gutted I didn’t win a ticket for next year but it’s all in good fun, and I walked out with a head of knowledge about the planet. Yaaaas.
Not gonna lie I spent my evening making new neighbourly boutique friends whilst we danced around to The Human League that was playing in the distance, and called it a night before Fat Boy Slim. No amount of coffee was gonna get me up and about. The mud threw me into the laziest of moods, but at least I became everyones best bud when offering out free hot food to anyone willing to come sit with moi. We did however dig the Bollywood tent once again before our departure, and catch another theatrical play in the Bollywood fields, I’m now so envious of their skills and realised how incredibly clumsy I am by comparison. So not all is lost but after a summer of festivals I deserved a chill night. Also Annie’s Mac N Cheese puts you into the best kind of food coma.
Bestival is a very sacred place, it’s taught me so much over a weekend and to never underestimate a tiny island off the south of England. I’m still wiping the glitter off my luggage and remembering all the good times that Bestival brings. It’s magical in a way that you can’t describe and totally trumps all festivals I’ve been to. When weather applicable it’s heaven on earth for peace, love, good company and importantly great times!
I can’t wait to return, it’s been the best and a massive thank you to Festicket for taking me as their first #FesticketInsider it’s been a rainbow galactic trip to the future, and one never forgotten. They have so many amazing festival and holiday packages so worth a scroll.
As once quoted by a man in Boutique Camping; Merry Bestival everyone!
