Download Festival organisers have addressed the chaotic traffic caused by the music event and said it was 'not acceptable'. The organisers have a commitment to a review of the traffic management plan ahead of next June's event after the long delays and busy traffic due to this year's event.
Some motorists were stuck in traffic queues around the A453 for up to three hours on the Wednesday and Thursday of the festival which was held at Donington Park. As Derbyshire Live reports, traffic information agencies warned people to avoid the area and anyone travelling to the festival or to the nearby East Midlands Airport was told to allow extra time.
A festival goer who travelled from Leeds on Wednesday, June 7, said: "The jam started at 10.50am on the M1 at J24 [for Kegworth] and I've managed to do 1.1 miles in three-and-a-half hours and I'm still not at the festival site. It's chaos."
Should the UK deal with extreme weather better? Let us know in our poll
The event organisers, Live Nation, said the cause of the chaotic traffic was down to higher attendance, increased number of vehicles and the routing to some car parks. The festival celebrated its 20th anniversary by extending the arena performances from three to four days, around 30,000 extra fans attended the event.
Up to 82,000 people camped on the site over the four days, arriving on the Wednesday, while up to 40,000 day tickets were sold. Normally, the number of day tickets is about 3,000 to 5,000 daily.
A statement from the organisers about the traffic problems, following several traffic management debrief meetings, has now been issued. It said: "We recognise that the level of traffic congestion was unprecedented and not acceptable due to the effect it had on our customers and the local community.
"An investigation has been launched to understand what went wrong on Wednesday and Thursday, June 7 and 8, in the surrounding areas of the festival. The higher attendance and increased number of vehicles accessing the site on the first two days and the routing to some car parks are believed to be the main contributing factors.
"As organisers of the festival, we have committed to a full review of the traffic management plan and information that was provided to ticket holders relating to the route to designated car parks. As part of the review, the festival will improve community engagement ahead of planning for 2024’s event including meetings with the local residential and commercial community to be held later this year."
It had previously been said that the usual three-day festival would take place in 2024 with the campsite opening two days before the festival begins on Friday to spread the arrival of customers over three days.
The event racked up other concerns as some people said that the music could be heard by people up to 20 miles away. Other complaints involved the poor conditions of the event of disabled people.
Musically, the festival was hailed a success by the organisers, together with the good weather. Festival booker Andy Copping said previously: "This is now the biggest rock festival in the UK outside of Glastonbury, which is something that never gets recognised which is a great shame."
