The Electric Picnic, Ireland’s most significant open-air summer music celebration, had a rough start this year according to attendees who arrived on Friday. The primary camping areas were filled far earlier than normally witnessed, forcing attendees to seek accommodation in remote overflow sites. The music jamboree, which is hosted annually in the Stradbally estate in Co Laois, has boosted its capacity from 50,000 participants in 2019 to 75,000 this year, having reached a peak of 70,000 in 2023.
Zia Skocenova, a Kilkenny resident, experienced an “utterly unpleasant” ordeal trying to locate a suitable area for their tent with her two companions, despite getting there at 10am. Their search lasted three hours. She conveyed her disappointment, stating that the parking area was their only starting point as the camping areas were full, apart from the overflow sites.
Experiencing a similar plight was Kate Mockler, from Greystones in Co Wicklow, who, along with her friend, spent two hours marching towards the overflow campsite from the drop-off point. “This isn’t how we expected our time here to start. The camping site gates were locked, which is something we haven’t experienced before in our previous arrivals around 8pm to 9pm. The furthest campsite became our only option as nothing was left for us.”
Feedback from the Electric Picnic Banter Facebook forum revealed that organisers requested individuals who had erected additional gazebos next to their tents to dismantle them to provide room for other attendees. Recent adjustments to camping facilities were also reported, with two prominent campsites, Charlie Chaplin and Oscar Wilde, noticeably missing.
A representative for the festival explained that their standard procedure dictates the guidance of festivalgoers to overflow sites once the designated ones reach capacity.
Electric Picnic enthusiasts are keen on experiencing every moment of the weekend festivities. Leah Leslie, a local from Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, has faithfully attended each event since 2009 and enthuses, “Sure, it’s expanded quite a bit, but it’s still outstanding fun”. The inaugural festival took place back in 2004.
Andrew Emerson, a 48-year-old Portarlington resident, admits to losing track of the number of times he has attended the Electric Picnic. His passion stems from the exuberance of the youthful attendees. As he puts it, “Everyone’s cheerful with high energy levels. I’m embedded in the era of the 1990s and 2000s. My agenda is simply to wander about, listen to the familiar sounds of skins, base and electric guitar and allowing myself to be pulled into a tent”.
Connie Tobin from Co Wicklow’s Bray reckons this must be her sixth or seventh time at the Electric Picnic. Expressing her love for the festival, she states: “In my experience, this is the ultimate festival. There’s an infectious good cheer in the atmosphere. Even if I came back a million times over, I would stumble upon something fresh each time.”
The festival kicked off on a high note with a record-breaking ‘rock-the-boat’ dance routine performed by 3,797 early arrivals. The previous record was established in Derry earlier in May. The funds accumulated from this endeavour will be used to support the Laois division of the Save Our Sons & Daughters Ireland charity aimed at suicide prevention.
Fans alighting at the festival were welcomed with sunny skies and light breezes. Friday’s weather stayed clear, and the forecast predicts no rain for the weekend. This year’s event started ahead of its usual schedule and was held on the first weekend of September to accommodate a special act—an initiative by Melvin Benn from Festival Republic, the event organisers. The act, rumoured to be Kylie Minogue, will be the grand finale on Sunday night.
Despite the change in the schedule, Electric Picnic’s traditional date remains an important weekend for music lovers, with Coldplay all set for four sold-out performances at Dublin’s Croke Park on August 29th, 30th and September 1st, 2nd.
The principal area of Electric Picnic houses a Department of Health tent equipped with containers for voluntarily discarded illicit substances, and even boasts of an in-house laboratory. This week, State Minister for Public Health, Well Being and National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke, paid a visit.
He stated: “Our primary interest in being here is to augment safety measures.” He further revealed that during the previous year, upwards of 90 diverse samples had been voluntarily handed over. Among them, four substances were flagged as particularly hazardous. Burke emphasised the importance of ensuring the attendees’ safe return from the festival, highlighting the increased number of individuals presenting samples of their drug purchases each year.