BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, WHILE SHE SLEEP, SKINDRED and numerous other artists have been added to the 2021 Download Pilot festival lineup.
Download Festival might not be coming back with it’s full capacity in 2021, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely gone! The festival’s organizers have announced the lineup for Download Pilot, which is a three-day pilot festival that takes part in the U.K. government’s Event Research Programme. The festival will take place between June 18 and 20 at Donington Park in Leicestershire with a capacity of 10,000. This follows Liverpool’s Sefton Park pilot, which had a capacity of 5,000.
“Following the huge success of our Sefton Park event, we are delighted to contribute to Phase II of the Government’s Events Research Programme with the creation of the first three-day camping festival which will be the Download Pilot at Donington Park,” said Festival Republic’s Melvin Benn.
“This massive next step will help us understand and study the safe return of large-scale festivals with no social distancing or facemasks over a full weekend… the return of the full festival experience we have all been waiting for and a much-needed return to work for musicians, backstage crew, caterers and many more that form part of the UK’s exemplary live music industry.”
Everybody on site will have taken a lateral flow test before entry and received a negative result and will have taken a PCR test too. That means you’ll be able to mosh, dance, hug your fellow Downloaders, and rock out without a mask or social distancing. Frankly, we can’t think of anything that sounds more awesome after 15 months away from our hallowed ground.
Researchers from Public Health England will be overseeing the study. They will be gathering data on transmission risk, the suspension of social distancing and face coverings over several consecutive days. This data will help to ensure that events later this summer can go ahead safely.
There’s certain criteria the science bods need you to fulfil for their research (being over 16 is one example). Anyone who wants to attend will need to read and agree to a consent document first to ensure they understand the research process and meet these criteria before they can buy a ticket.
To say thank you for sticking with us through these tough times, Download 2022 ticket holders will be given first dibs for 48 hours on tickets for the pilot event.
You’ll need to take a Lateral Flow Test at home and it has to be negative for you to enter the event. If you test positive, don’t worry – you’ll be refunded. The researchers also need you to take a PCR test and drop it in a Priority Post Box before you get to the event. All you need to show at the gate will be your ticket, matching ID and your negative lateral flow test result (this will be shown as a text or email from the NHS). Five days after the event, you’ll be asked to take a second PCR test and send it back to the ERP. These post-festival tests are really vital to the research and you must send yours back!
For more details on the Events Research Programme and the testing procedure, please see here.
