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This is Derbyshire -- A WEEKEND of contrasts greeted the huge number of rock fans who descended on Donington Park for the 11th annual Download festival.
These included the weather, which greeted the first of the 70,000 campers on Thursday with flash floods and thunder and lightning, but which graduated to bright sunshine by Sunday night.
And the music, which had something for everyone, from veteran rockers Uriah Heep, founded in 1969, through to younger bands such as Mordecai and The Afterparty. Headliners were Slipknot, Iron Maiden and Rammstein.
Labelled one of the "best-ever" Download festivals by the organisers, many of the fans travelling from around the world seemed to agree – many comparing the experience to last year when flooding threatened to wash it out.
Sharon Wildstein, 45, was at the event from her native Dallas in Texas, USA. She had travelled with a group of friends to "see England and take in the festival".
She said: "I have been to arena concerts before back home but never to an event like this. It has been a great experience. I wasn't sure when it rained a bit on Friday but by Sunday it was just swell. I loved the Iron Maiden set on Saturday night."
Iron Maiden's appearance, marking the 25th anniversary since the band first played at Donington, was a highlight for many, with tracks old and new coming thick and fast.
They kicked off with a fly-past by a Second World War Spitfire, which, according to one of the organisers Andy Copping, was not the easiest thing to organise.
He said: "We first heard about it six weeks ago from the band and had to time everything to perfection and check out that East Midlands Airport was kept fully informed. We didn't think it could be done but we should have known better."
Fan Justin Goodban, 18, of Margate, said: "The best gig I've ever been to and I've been to hundreds."
The festival marked a first for two local bands – Emperor Chung from Ilkeston and Fahran from Breaston – and dozens of other bands got their first chance at a professional career on the Jaegermeister acoustic stage.
Mr Copping said: "We are proud that bands appearing near the top of the bill, such as Bullet For My Valentine, were unsigned when they first appeared here several years ago."
Fears for residents in and around the Castle Donington area that the sell-out festival could get bigger in years to come were allayed by festival director John Probyn, of Live Nation, yesterday. He said: "We could comfortably accommodate 120,000 fans on this site but the infrastructure around the area such as roads, which grind to a halt after the festival on Sunday night and when the campers leave on Monday morning, would be even worse. So we wouldn't do that to the people we work closely with."
Each year, Live Nation makes a charitable donation to events and organisations in the area as a goodwill gesture. Two years ago, money was given to Hemington Primary School to create a new library. This year, money is being given to fund the Donington Party in the Park event on July 20 and also to Melbourne Community Care.
Mr Probyn is also preparing to spend another £500,000, on top of a similar sum spent last winter, to continue work on improving drainage on the campsite and in the main arena. He said: "Last year's money was well-spent."
New for this year, and enjoyed by many people at £15 a time, was a zip wire across the main arena. Gary Jackson, 42, of Leicester, had a go. He said: "It was great to see everything from that angle, although it was a good job I don't mind heights."
One or two bands, who were cancelled last year because of the conditions, were first on the list for 2013. These included 80s rockers Europe, famous for The Final Countdown, who were last year held up in traffic. Lead singer Joey Tempest said afterwards: "It was well worth waiting for and I arrived the night before to be sure we made it this time."
Mr Copping was staying tight-lipped about the line-up for Download 2014. He said: "We have two bands pretty much sewn up but the third is proving slippery. I won't announce until I know all three acts. But fans can rest assured everything will be even better than ever before." Reported by This is 11 hours ago.
Clik here to view.
This is Derbyshire -- A WEEKEND of contrasts greeted the huge number of rock fans who descended on Donington Park for the 11th annual Download festival.These included the weather, which greeted the first of the 70,000 campers on Thursday with flash floods and thunder and lightning, but which graduated to bright sunshine by Sunday night.
And the music, which had something for everyone, from veteran rockers Uriah Heep, founded in 1969, through to younger bands such as Mordecai and The Afterparty. Headliners were Slipknot, Iron Maiden and Rammstein.
Labelled one of the "best-ever" Download festivals by the organisers, many of the fans travelling from around the world seemed to agree – many comparing the experience to last year when flooding threatened to wash it out.
Sharon Wildstein, 45, was at the event from her native Dallas in Texas, USA. She had travelled with a group of friends to "see England and take in the festival".
She said: "I have been to arena concerts before back home but never to an event like this. It has been a great experience. I wasn't sure when it rained a bit on Friday but by Sunday it was just swell. I loved the Iron Maiden set on Saturday night."
Iron Maiden's appearance, marking the 25th anniversary since the band first played at Donington, was a highlight for many, with tracks old and new coming thick and fast.
They kicked off with a fly-past by a Second World War Spitfire, which, according to one of the organisers Andy Copping, was not the easiest thing to organise.
He said: "We first heard about it six weeks ago from the band and had to time everything to perfection and check out that East Midlands Airport was kept fully informed. We didn't think it could be done but we should have known better."
Fan Justin Goodban, 18, of Margate, said: "The best gig I've ever been to and I've been to hundreds."
The festival marked a first for two local bands – Emperor Chung from Ilkeston and Fahran from Breaston – and dozens of other bands got their first chance at a professional career on the Jaegermeister acoustic stage.
Mr Copping said: "We are proud that bands appearing near the top of the bill, such as Bullet For My Valentine, were unsigned when they first appeared here several years ago."
Fears for residents in and around the Castle Donington area that the sell-out festival could get bigger in years to come were allayed by festival director John Probyn, of Live Nation, yesterday. He said: "We could comfortably accommodate 120,000 fans on this site but the infrastructure around the area such as roads, which grind to a halt after the festival on Sunday night and when the campers leave on Monday morning, would be even worse. So we wouldn't do that to the people we work closely with."
Each year, Live Nation makes a charitable donation to events and organisations in the area as a goodwill gesture. Two years ago, money was given to Hemington Primary School to create a new library. This year, money is being given to fund the Donington Party in the Park event on July 20 and also to Melbourne Community Care.
Mr Probyn is also preparing to spend another £500,000, on top of a similar sum spent last winter, to continue work on improving drainage on the campsite and in the main arena. He said: "Last year's money was well-spent."
New for this year, and enjoyed by many people at £15 a time, was a zip wire across the main arena. Gary Jackson, 42, of Leicester, had a go. He said: "It was great to see everything from that angle, although it was a good job I don't mind heights."
One or two bands, who were cancelled last year because of the conditions, were first on the list for 2013. These included 80s rockers Europe, famous for The Final Countdown, who were last year held up in traffic. Lead singer Joey Tempest said afterwards: "It was well worth waiting for and I arrived the night before to be sure we made it this time."
Mr Copping was staying tight-lipped about the line-up for Download 2014. He said: "We have two bands pretty much sewn up but the third is proving slippery. I won't announce until I know all three acts. But fans can rest assured everything will be even better than ever before." Reported by This is 11 hours ago.