Think foreign for festivals in the sun
Among young twenty-something professionals a new trend is emerging for them to spend a few quid extra and go overseas for their music, writes Charlotte Cross.
When you reach a certain age, you suddenly notice you don't enjoy festivals that much any more.
Maybe it's the realisation that having mud caked in your hair really isn't something you enjoy.
Maybe it's having to live in fear that your purse/booze/shoes will be stolen from your tent while you're partying, or worse – asleep inside.
Or maybe it's suddenly noticing that the majority of people attending these events are groups of overexcited 14 year olds getting drunk on smuggled-in cider.
Whatever it is, among young twenty-something professionals a new trend is emerging for them to spend a few quid extra and go overseas for their music.
Spain's Benicassim festival earlier this month regularly attracts as big a line-up as any UK festival, with Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes and Primal Scream heading the bill this year.
Meanwhile, Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, Good Charlotte and Interpol will head to Hungary for Sziget Festival between August 10 and 15, and Kanye West, The Human League and Empire of the Sun will be in Helsinki for Flow Festival between August 12 and 14. Visit sziget.hu/festival_english and www.flowfestival.com/en for more details.
Pukkelpop, in Belgium, is one of the blossoming favourites and regularly attracts major names which could easily rival anything Glasto has to offer.
This year, between August 18 and 20, festival-goers will be treated to Foo Fighters, Eminem and The Offspring headlining – and such is the event's burgeoning popularity that not only has it been sold out for months, organisers have been forced to launch a waiting list for any cancellations and re-sales. For more details, visit www.pukkelpop.be/en
One of the extra attractions of the foreign festival is the weather.
While in England you can't guarantee one day to the next, most of those mentioned enjoy blazing summer months and, as such, you will find that they usually leave the music and partying between dusk and dawn, leaving guests to sleep off their hangover in the sunshine.
Overall, it's a much more pleasant experience. It's hot, the music's great, and you're less likely (though no guarantees) to have some teenager who can't handle Jaeger throw up all over your shoes.
Charlotte Cross
