V Festival
V Festival | |
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Genre | Music |
Frequency | Annually (penultimate weekend in August) |
Location(s) |
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Years active | 1996–2017, 2020 |
Inaugurated | 17 August 1996 |
Founder | Richard Branson |
Most recent | 21 August 2020 | – 23 August 2020
Participants | See lineups |
Attendance | 170,000 (2015) |
Capacity | 90,000 |
Organised by | Virgin Group |
Sponsor | Virgin Media |
Website | vfestival |
V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual
Richard Branson announced on 30 October 2017 that V Festival would be discontinued but that a new festival would replace it.[3] In 2018, a new festival called "Rize" was held in on the same weekend as the "V Festival" but only at Hylands Park. However, on 5 August 2020, it was announced that the "V Festival" was to return to Hylands Park, without an audience (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), later that month.[4]
The "V" represented the Virgin Group, with the event being sponsored by Virgin Media.
It was originally televised by
History
The idea for V came in 1996 when
Previously it had been held at Temple Newsam in Leeds, before being replaced by Carling's
Melanie C, Dido, and N.E.R.D. have all performed at the festival, and both Razorlight and Faithless performed in 2006. V showcases a mix of British and international musicians, from up-and-coming bands such as Coldplay in 2000 and the Kaiser Chiefs in 2003 and 2008, and glam rockers El Presidente in 2005, to veteran crooner Tony Christie. Girls Aloud also performed at the 2006 show, and received rave reviews for their performance. V97 was the first V Festival to be webcast. This was audio-only, and had about 30,000 unique listeners.[citation needed]
Festivals and line-ups by year
V96
The first V festival took place on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August 1996, and had two stages and one tent.
- V stage: Lightning Seeds, Gary Numan, Shed Seven, Stereolab, Incognito, Jonathan Richman, The Mike Flowers Pops, Longpigs, Edge Park
- 2nd Stage:
- Dance Arena: , Delta
V97
This year introduced the NME stage.
- V Stage: Blur, The Prodigy, Kula Shaker, Beck, Dodgy, Foo Fighters, Reef, Placebo, Pavement, Fluke, Teenage Fanclub, Apollo 440, The Supernaturals, Echobelly, Linoleum
- NME Stage: Ash, The Bluetones, Mansun, Gene, The Divine Comedy, Longpigs, Monaco, Echo & the Bunnymen, Symposium, Geneva, Silver Sun, Veruca Salt, Embrace, Hurricane#1, AC Acoustics, Stereophonics, The Driven, Radish
- Virgin High Energy Tent: The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Dreadzone, Propellerheads, Death in Vegas, Sneaker Pimps, GusGus, Lionrock, Jimi Tenor, Olive, Finley Quaye, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Carl Cox, Trademark
V98
- V Stage: The Verve, The Charlatans, The Seahorses, Texas, Green Day, Robbie Williams, The Lightning Seeds, Space, Iggy Pop, James, Chumbawamba, Stereophonics, Marion, Feeder, Whale, Rialto, Young Offenders, Headswim
- NME Stage:
- Dance Tent: Cuba
V99
- V Stage: Manic Street Preachers, Suede, The Beautiful South, Stereophonics, Placebo (withdrew owing to illness, replaced by Kula Shaker[5]), Supergrass, Happy Mondays, Cast, The Levellers, Gomez, Faithless, The Cardigans, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Afro Celt Sound System, The Saw Doctors, Melanie C
- NME Stage: James Brown, Massive Attack, Super Furry Animals, Mercury Rev, Shed Seven, DJ Shadow, Travis, Gay Dad, dEUS, Red Snapper, A, Death in Vegas, Dot Allison, Eve 6, Liz Horman, YY29, Medal, One Lady Owner
- JJB Arena Stage: Orbital, Finley Quaye, lan brown Lamb, Rae & Christian, Freestylers, Sneaker Pimps, The Egg, Groove Armada, Mishka, Richie Hawtin, Luke Slater, Regular Fries, Technique, ManCHILD, Archive
- Reebox Arena:
V2000
- Richard Ashcroft (of The Verve) goes solo and Travis unveil their cover of Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" which they had already played at Glastonbury Festival in June 2000.
- V Stage:
- MTV Stage: Dum Dums, The Dandy Warhols, Soulwax, Coldplay, Hefner, SX 10, Big Leaves, The Webb Brothers, Pacifica
- JJB Puma Arena: Hybrid, Dara
- Shockwaves Club Tent:
V2001
- V Stage:
- WTV Stage:, Webb Brothers, Phoenix, Turin Brakes, Snow Patrol, Ed Harcourt, Ben's Symphonic Orchestra, Lifehouse (Hylands Park only), Santa's Boyfriend(Weston Park only)
- JJB Puma Arena: Relish
- Slinky Dance Tent: , John Dale
V2002
- V Stage: Rhianna
- NME Stage: Halo, The Donnas, Athlete, Seafood, The Burn, Phantom Planet (Hyland Park only), The Leaves, Crescent, Longview
- JJB Puma Stage: McAlmont and Butler, Sugababes, Gemma Hayes, Custom, Damien Rice, Ashton Lane, Kid Galahad, Venus Hum, Montana High Rise, Rachel Mari Kimber
- Strongbow Golden Dance Arena: Tayo, Complete Communion, Dean Wilson
V2003
- V Stage:
- NME Stage:
- JJB Puma Arena: Mankato
- Strongbow Golden Shower Arena: Tayo
V2004
- V Stage, N.E.R.D, Faithless, The Thrills, Pink, Badly Drawn Boy, Athlete, Snow Patrol, The Divine Comedy, Jamie Cullum, Big Brovaz, Kosheen
- NME Stage, 10,000 Things, Kasabian, Blacklight
- JJB Puma Arena, Basement Jaxx, Primal Scream, Kelis, Groove Armada, Amy Winehouse, Beverley Knight, The Human League, Audio Bullys, Jamelia, Roni Size, Freestylers, Kristian Leontiou, Aqualung, Josh Ritter, Phoenix, Chicane, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Fried, Backlight, Headway
- New Band Stage: The Infadels, The Crimea, Thea Gilmore, Cath Davey, Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club, Kevin Mark Trail, Rooster, Polly Paulsuma, The Casuals, Colour of Fire, Magnet, Mohair, Stateless
V2005
The 10th V Festival took place from Saturday 20 August to Sunday 21 August 2005, headlining with Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, and Scissor Sisters. Performing acts included:
Chelmsford Saturday/Staffordshire Sunday:
- V Stage: Oasis, The Streets, Maroon 5, The Zutons, Jet, The La's, Goldie Lookin Chain, The Stands, Vulcan
- Channel 4 Stage: The Chemical Brothers, Doves, Kaiser Chiefs, The Bravery, Good Charlotte, KT Tunstall, The Magic Numbers, The Departure, Tom Vek, Road To V Winner
- JJB Puma Arena: Texas, Robert Plant, Sonic Youth, The Polyphonic Spree, Lucie Silvas, The Proclaimers, The Presidents of the United States of America, Tom Baxter, Emilíana Torrini, Tara Blaise
Chelmsford Sunday/Staffordshire Saturday:
- V Stage: Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, Embrace, Athlete, Joss Stone, Tony Christie, Idlewild, Rooster
- Channel 4 Stage: The Prodigy, The Hives, The Music, Turin Brakes, The Ordinary Boys, Thirteen Senses, I Am Kloot, The Frames, El Presidente, No Hope In New Jersey
- JJB Puma Arena: Ian Brown, The Roots, Dizzee Rascal, Goldfrapp, Natasha Bedingfield, Jem, Estelle, BodyRockers, k-os, Tyler James
- Volvic Stage (across the weekend): Super Furry Animals, Nine Black Alps (replaced 22-20s), The Kooks, Kubb, Morning Runner, Stephen Fretwell, Róisín Murphy, Ray LaMontagne, Tooty Reynolds
V2006
The 11th V Festival took place on Saturday 19 August and Sunday 20 August.
Tickets for the festival went on sale on Monday 27 February, exclusively to Virgin Mobile customers, and went on general sale on Friday 3 March.
There were complaints from festival-goers in 2006 due to the excessive price of food and merchandise, and lack of prior information about the band schedules, the only timetable available being a programme sold at the festival. Despite knowing the numbers attending, the print run of programmes was sold out.[7]
The "Road To V" competition for 2006 was won by Bombay Bicycle Club and Keith.
- V Stage: Paul Weller, Beck, Keane, Bloc Party, Sugababes, Hard-Fi, The Magic Numbers, The Dandy Warhols, Kubb, Gavin DeGraw, The Divine Comedy, The Dead 60s, Daniel Powter
- Channel 4 Stage: The Charlatans, Starsailor, James Dean Bradfield, Delays, The Feeling, Morning Runner, The Rifles, Dogs, Kasabian, Editors, The Ordinary Boys, We Are Scientists, The Cardigans, Orson, Kula Shaker, Biffy Clyro, The Saw Doctors
- JJB/Puma Arena:
- Virgin Mobile Social:
V2007
The line-up for V Festival 2007 was revealed on Virgin Radio on Monday 26 February 2007 and tickets went on sale on 1 March.
The line-up was as follows:
- V Stage: The Goo Goo Dolls, The Proclaimers and Just Jack.
- Channel 4 Stage: The Kooks, Manic Street Preachers, Lily Allen, Mika, Guillemots, The Hours, Basement Jaxx, The Coral, Babyshambles, Jet, The Fray, The Cribs and Captain, as well as Road To V winners Rosalita and The Brightlights. Foo Fighters also performed an acoustic set under the name 606.
- JJB/Puma Arena: Damien Rice, Corinne Bailey Rae, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Lemar, Willy Mason, Rilo Kiley, McFly, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Mutya Buena, Seth Lakeman. Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, Jarvis Cocker, Ocean Colour Scene, Dizzee Rascal, Sinéad O'Connor, Beverley Knight, Martha Wainwright, Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers, Jesse Malin and Chungking.
- Virgin Mobile Union: and Rebecca.
Amy Winehouse was supposed to play but cancelled due to admittance into rehab. She was replaced by Happy Mondays. Babyshambles were four hours late for their set at Weston Park after being held up by traffic.[8][9] Robyn replaced The Bravery.
V2008
Day | V Stage | 4Music Stage | JJB Champion Arena | Virgin Mobile Union | Sessions Stage |
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Hylands Park Saturday / Weston Park Sunday
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Hylands Park Sunday / Weston Park Saturday
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Tickets went on general sale on 7 March 2008 at 10 am, and sold out in 90 minutes.[10]
On 26 June 2008 at 10 am, extra tickets for both venues went on sale.[citation needed]
V2009
Tickets for V 2009 went on general sale on 6 March 2009. A limited number of tickets went on sale at 10 am on 19 August 2008, following the end of the 2008 festival. Weekend tickets were priced at £132.50 (no camping) and £152.50 (with camping) for the weekend. On 2 March 2009 NME confirmed The Killers and Oasis as headliners.[11] However, Oasis did not perform in Chelmsford due to frontman Liam Gallagher having viral laryngitis.[12] Oasis split-up as a band just a few days later, making their Staffordshire show their last.
The event was held on 22 & 23 August 2009.
Day | V Stage | 4Music Stage | The Arena | Virgin Media Union |
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Hylands Park Saturday / Weston Park Sunday
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Hylands Park Sunday / Weston Park Saturday
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V2010
The 2010 lineup for V Festival was officially announced on 11 March 2010 through the festival's site and on
Day | V Stage | 4Music Stage | Nissan Juke Arena | Virgin Media Union |
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Hylands Park Saturday / Weston Park Sunday
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Hylands Park Sunday / Weston Park Saturday
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Line Up according to the official V Festival programme.
V2011
- Pendulum headlined the 4Music stage but Primal Scream closed the stage.
V2012
The final line-up for V Festival 2012 was announced on Tuesday 7 August. In contrast to previous years, some tickets remained on sale until the week of the festival.
Nicki Minaj cancelled her appearance at this weekend's festival because of damage to her vocal cords.[14] LMFAO was moved up to headliner spot whilst DJ Fresh performed in LMFAO's place.
In the week running up to V Festival both
Performers such as Sean Lock and Milton Jones appeared in The Glee Club Comedy Tent.
Pop Artist James Wilkinson was appointed Official Artist to the V Festival. The first person to be appointed in 16 years of the Festival.[15][failed verification]
Day | Virgin Media Stage | 4Music Stage | The Arena Stage | Virgin Media Undercover Stage |
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Hylands Park Saturday / Weston Park Sunday
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Hylands Park Sunday / Weston Park Saturday
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V Festival 2013
At the 2013 V Festival,
For the 2013 festival, one stage was renamed: the stage previously known as 'Virgin Media Undercover Tent' now became known as 'Futures Stage'. A poster released by the organisers initially seemed to suggest that the stage previously known as '4Music Stage' had been renamed as 'Stage 2', leading to speculation that Channel 4 had ended their sponsorship of the event, however a revised version of the poster released later reinstated the original name of the stage.[17][18]
Multiple changes were made to the bill in the days leading up to the festival.
The majority of the line-up, with day and stage splits, was announced on 30 May 2013. With the Comedy Stage line-up announced later, as well as the changed outlines above, the full bill ended up as follows:
Day | Virgin Media Stage | 4Music Stage | The Arena Stage | Futures Stage | Glee Club Comedy Tent |
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Hylands Park Saturday / Weston Park Sunday
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Hylands Park Sunday / Weston Park Saturday
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V Festival 2014
The 2014 V Festival was the first to be staged with the new shareholders
- * Hylands Park only
- **Weston Park Only
Manic Street Preachers had to cancel their show at Chelmsford due to being delayed in Budapest, Hungary at the airport after the Sziget Festival.[19]
V Festival 2015
Lineup
Line-up | |
Saturday 22 August - Hylands Park / Sunday 23 August - Weston Park | Saturday 22 August - Weston Park / Sunday 23 August - Hylands Park |
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Virgin Media Stage | |
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MTV Stage | |
Sure Arena | |
The Dance Tent | |
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The Glee Club Comedy Tent | |
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V Festival 2016
Lineup
Line-up | |
Saturday 20 August - Hylands Park / Sunday 21 August - Weston Park | Saturday 20 August - Weston Park / Sunday 21 August - Hylands Park |
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Most of the line up was released on 22 February 2016.[20]
V Festival 2017
The 2017 V Festival Line Up was announced on 31 March 2017 with more acts added on 2 April 2017 and the full lineup poster on 20 April.
Lineup
Line-up | |
Saturday 19 August - Hylands Park / Sunday 20 August - Weston Park | Saturday 19 August - Weston Park / Sunday 20 August - Hylands Park |
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Virgin Media Stage | |
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Second Stage | |
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JBL Dance Arena | |
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The Glee Comedy Tent | |
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V Festival 2020
The 2020 V Festival was announced, alongside the headliners, on 5 August 2020.[4] However, this festival went on hiatus caused by COVID-19 pandemic and a virtual one was held in its place, with performances from the festival's sets being broadcast by ITV2.[21]
Lineup
Line-up | ||
Friday 21 August - Hylands Park | Saturday 22 August - Hylands Park | Sunday 23 August - Hylands Park |
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Virgin Media Stage | ||
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Criticisms and reputation
The festival was noted for its commercial nature[22] in comparison with other British music festivals. The V Festival received criticism for charging £10 to buy a programme - the only way festival-goers can see what time artists are performing - while others have mentioned the fact burgers cost £7 and water bottles are sometimes confiscated at the entrance, costing up to £2 once inside the grounds.[citation needed] Buying four crates on site would cost a person the same price as a ticket.[23] Some fans have referred to the organisers of the event as 'greedy'.[24]
Despite this, the New Statesman argues that the commercial nature has some advantages:
"Yet there are undeniable advantages to the [commercial] environment. V is a remarkably non-threatening festival, with few of the rougher edges prevalent at other large-scale gatherings."[22]
The Evening Standard gave the 2009 festival 3/5 stars after headliners Oasis pulled out of the Hylands Park leg of the festival due to illness.[25] Furthermore, approximately 800 people were injured, mainly due to falls causing sprains and ankle injuries.[26]
In 2012, during Cher Lloyd's performance, the crowd booed and a bottle filled with urine was thrown at her, causing Lloyd to walk off stage. She came back on to finish her set but another bottle was thrown and she ended her set early.[27]
See also
- List of historic rock festivals
- List of music festivals in the United Kingdom
- V Festival (Australia)
- Virgin Festival
- Virgin Radio
References
- ^ "V Festival (Staffordshire) 2017". eFestivals. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ "V Festival (Chelmsford) 2017". eFestivals. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ Buckland, Lucy (30 October 2017). "V Festival has been scrapped after 22 years - boss Richard Branson announces". mirror. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "Headline acts announced for return of popular Essex music festival". 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Entertainment: News In Brief: Placebo blow stirs Kula Shaker". BBC News. 20 August 1999. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "LIVE: V2001 FESTIVAL"[usurped]. Chart Attack, 24 August 2001. Review By Frank Walshe
- ^ "Festival fans condemn 'greedy' V". BBC News. 22 August 2006.
- ^ NME.COM. "Babyshambles V Festival Stafford set delayed - NME.COM". NME.COM.
- ^ NME.COM. "Babyshambles finally play V Festival Stafford - NME.COM". NME.COM.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - Entertainment - V tickets sell out in 90 minutes". 7 March 2008.
- ^ "Blue and The Saturdays to headline V Festival". NME. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
- ^ "Oasis cancel V festival Chelmsford headline slot | News". Nme.Com. 23 August 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ "V Festival tickets sell out fast". BBC News. 6 March 2010.
- ^ "Minaj cancels UK festival show due to vocal cords". AP. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ^ Anderson, Sarah (18 August 2012). "V Festival 2012 in photos". NME.
- ^ "Line-up". Vfestival.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ Brown, Helen (17 August 2013). "V Festival 2013: day one review". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ Hawksley, Rupert (18 August 2013). "V Festival day two: Kings of Leon, Stereophonics, Emeli Sandé, review". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ "Manic Street Preachers pull out of Chelmsford V Festival". BBC News. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ "Home". vfestival.com.
- ^ "Virgin Media's V Festival 2020 – how to watch it on ITV2, who's performing".
- ^ a b New Statesman - The most commercial of music festivals
- ^ Festival fans condemn 'greedy' V BBC News
- ^ Fans call V Festival organisers 'greedy' Festival News
- ^ V Festival crowd looks back in anger London Evening Standard
- ^ Almost 800 festival-goers treated BBC News
- TheGuardian.com. 20 August 2012.