Download is known for its inclusivity, with people making firm friends there. The fans that go are consistently called “the Download Family, by staff and visitors alike. This year, they’re opening it up and increasing the inclusivity by doing something to increase the festival’s accessibility.
Download have pledged to make the festival more accessible in so many ways.
There are 2 massive additions to the line up in the form of BSL Interpreters. BSL (British Sign Language) being added to the Main and Zippo Encore stage platforms is a revelation in terms of accessibility for the deaf community. This will be provided by Performance Interpreting, a company dedicated to providing an experience for the deaf and hard of hearing.
What’s more, there will be more disabled access for the festival. There are viewing platforms being added to each stage, including the DogHouse over in The Village, so all stages can be watched by anyone.
There will be a Wheelchair Charging Tent, that has 50 charging points available, with the possibility of even more to be added.
The toilet locations for the Disabled Access Campsite will increase by 50%, while the check in facility will double in size to help make checking in more comfortable and efficient.
And the Castle Donington Volunteer run, free bus shuttle service will now run almost 24 hours a day, AND will now have an extra bus.
Vegans and Vegetarians, do not fear, there will be a 20% increase in Veggie/Vegan food traders, due to incredible demand at last year’s festival. More food, less worries about meat content.
On top of the increased accessibility, Download have also taken great strides towards being more Environmentally-Friendly after receiving a 4 Star Creative Green Result from Julie’s Bicycle, a charity who support the creative industries to act on climate change, for last year’s festival.
You may have noticed a number of Reusable “souvenir” cups if you attended last year, which saved over 500,000 single use cups, which helped to make last year’s Total Waste to be down on 2016’s waste level by 61%!! That equates to 560 tonnes less waste, the equivalent of 5 and 1/2 Blue Whales, so expect that to return, with another incredible design.
In the light of all that, there’s been a new camp added to the festival sight. The Eco Camp is a new addition to the site, and is being run by none other than Greenpeace. There will be room for 3000 of the Download Family to camp in there, where the only thing left behind afterwards will be your memories and experiences. Look on the website to register your interest for this camp, before it becomes fully booked up.
So, get your day/weekend tickets for Download Festival 2018, there’s no excuse now. See you in the pit (or on a viewing platform)!