It’s often mooted that the Isle of Wight Festival is aimed just at the middle-aged or more mature festival-goer, so we asked 18-year-old Alpha to share her experience of the Festival with us. Ed
My experience as a young person at Isle of Wight Festival has always been a positive one.
It’s very clear the Festival works hard to include a number of young musicians in their line-up, giving the youth of the Island a chance to see their friends performing on tents such as Platform One, Electro Love and Kashmir Café.
As someone who’s gone to the Isle of Wight Festival year after year, being able to watch your peers on a stage you know so well is a beautiful experience.
Cirque De La Quirk
My personal favourite tent, as was many of my friends, was Cirque De La Quirk.
A party tent that during the day provided endless entertainment with sock wrestling competitions, then at night gives a place for the drum and bass lovers to gather.
Mud mitigation
Despite the poor weather that fell over the festival weekend, we were all extremely impressed at the efforts made to reduce the muddy issue.
The campsite particularly suffered due to the huge amounts of footfall, however the festival team had effective strategies to ensure the camping experience remained as mud free as possible.
Drink prices not really a surprise
This festival is my first year as a student, as I’ve been studying at the University of Bristol for the last year, therefore my perception of the drinking experience is different to the local Islander.
Compared to Bristol drink prices, I can’ complain when I am charged £5 for a pint at the festival as I am used to paying £4 for a tin of red stripe in every club.
However for all of my friends that haven’t had to deal with those prices on a normal night out, and for my bank account, the bar experience isn’t the most welcoming to young people.
Happy vibe
Overall I had a very enjoyable time at The Isle of Wight Festival this year. There was a very happy vibe running throughout the whole festival, with spirits remaining high despite the poor weather at night.
There was a good mix of artists that suited each age range that attended, my personal favourite being Fatboy Slim due to the incredible visuals and light show.
There was certainly an effort made to include all age ranges and to ensure they all had an equally enjoyable time. I’ll be back again for more next year!
