Following the unprecedented flooded village and parts of the campsite at Download 2019, the Download Festival powers that be have listened to the hundreds of Donington attendees and have put in place plans to improve things hugely for 2020. Substantial changes have been announced for the village, the campsite, the car parks, parts of the arena and more.
First of all – the village has been moved to hard standing to ensure the wash out of 2019 does not happen again. Its new home on Tarmac Lake will also host the first Download Festival merch superstore, designed to make it easier to purchase festival and band merchandise and cut down on the queuing times. It’s not just in the village that getting merch will be easier, as the merch stands in the arena will be bigger and with more staff on hand to serve the masses of Download Festival attendees quicker.
There has also been a total re-organisation of the campsites and car parks. The newly moved Village will still serve as a central hub, but where in the past the furthest campsites meant nearly an hours’ walk to the Donington arena, the redesigned layout means the furthest corners of the campsite will now only be 25 minutes from the action. The car parks have also changed, with the South car park now being exclusively for day ticket holders, and weekend guests having use of the West car park as well as the brand new East car park.
Download has always been ahead of the game in terms of being one of the greenest festivals in the UK and the team’s commitment to going even further with reducing their carbon footprint in 2020 is being shown in several ways. Download’s carbon emissions in 2020 will be reduced by 60% compared to last year thanks to the festival being powered entirely by 100% renewable Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) biofuel. With recycling rates rising to 59% last year, the reusable cups will be on hand at all the bars once again, as well as the Co-Op’s reverse vending machines in The Village. The water fountains around the site will also flow 4x faster than previous, allowing festival goers to fill up the plant based water bottles available at Download 2020. There will also be a much greater selection of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food available at Download compared to years gone by.
Back to the music. The Dogtooth Stage has been a true highlight of the festival over the last few years, with fantastic performances from the likes of Holding Absence, The Lounge Kittens, Insomnium, Stone Broken and the legendary At The Gates to name a handful. With this in mind, the capacity of The Dogtooth Stage is being increased from just under 3,000 to over 4,000, allowing many more Download goers to experience some of the potential stars of tomorrow and some legends in a comparatively intimate setting alike.
Last but no means least, Download Festival 2020 will see the festival plant a time capsule in the hallowed grounds of Donington, with bands across the line up contributing to the contents of the capsule. Those in attendance may also get the chance to have their say on what goes in the capsule, which is set to be dug up in May 2078!
All of these changes should help to contribute to a further improved festival experience for the Download Festival in 2020. Headliners KISS, Iron Maiden and System Of A Down will be joined by almost 100 bands and the superstars of WWE’s NXT UK brand at Donington Park from the 12th-14th of June (campsite open 10th-15th June). Tickets are available in a variety of forms now! Stay tuned to Rock Sins for plenty more on Download 2020 between now and when the gates open in June!
