Electric Picnic boss Melvin Benn has promised the festival will be worth the wait and teased punters: “It will blow your mind”.
It’s been a long three years for ticket holders who purchased their passes in 2019, before the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to Covid-9
Some 70,000 are now preparing prepare to descend on the famous Stradbally site in Co Laois this weekend, the most ever to be in attendance.
Read More: Top act added late to Electric Picnic line-up as stage times release confirmed
Festival Republic boss Melvin, believes that both the anticipation after the wait and the changes they have made this year will make the 2022 festival the most “special” yet.
He was speaking at the site, where the final touches are being put on the various stages and areas ahead of the first arrivals tomorrow.
Melvin said: “We would have never have thought that come the end of 2019 that it would be three years before we would be able to set foot on the grass again but we are here and we are delighted.
“It’s been a long journey.
“We are the back end of the season so almost the last event of the season and the biggest and most important event musically and culturally in Ireland as far as I’m concerned.
“And the fact we’ve waited three years will just make it more special.
“There are lots of really special things this year I would say.
“Definitely, definitely worth waiting those three years for.”
“[It will be] heaven, absolute heaven. And I genuinely believe that it will blow their [ticket holders] mind.”
He joked: “It’s back to pre-Covid. I’m struggling to remember how to spell Covid at the moment.
“We’re all free again which is wonderful.”
On the anticipation of their biggest crowd to date, Melvin said they have opened up early access to 20,000 revellers in the hopes of managing traffic into the site this weekend.
Amongst other changes to this year’s festival set-up will see the main stage moved in order to increase the capacity able to attend the main arena.
Others include Fish Town, the new incarnation of The Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow, Heineken’s Greener Bar, which will make its debut with their most sustainable activation to date, a bigger and better Freetown and the introduction of a new theatre area.
Melvin said: “The changes, although they are subtle,
they are quite dramatic.
“The main stage arena really is quite a lot bigger, it is to increase the capacity. Change can be good. I like change.”
But one thing he said hasn’t changed is the demand for tickets, and for bands and acts to land a slot on the stage.
Melvin continued: “Let’s see how this year goes. What I do know is that there is a lot of demand for people to come and I want to satisfy as much as that demand as I can obviously.
“But I had to keep the spirit of the pic nic and I think I do that pretty well and I think all of the creative parts of the picnic do that really well. But ultimately if there is more demand I would like to satisfy that.
“And the queue to play the Electric Picnic is immense. It’s without doubt the most important music in the country and it is a great opportunity to find new fans if you are a band. But that also goes for Ballet Ireland for instance, and the comedian on the comedy stage and the podcast stage.
“Everybody wants to grow their fan base and the Picnic does that. Not just in music, but across all sorts of art forms.”
The festival organiser also clarified the clampdown on drugs at this year’s festival saying there will be “zero amnesty” for anyone caught carrying drugs by gardai on site.
It comes after the announcement of a new initiative at Electric Picnic this year, which will see the HSE carry out anonymous drug testing as part of a drug harm reduction campaign.
Concert goers can anonymously submit substances to a surrender bin, which will be taken to be analysed so that the HSE can communicate if dangerous substances are there.
Melvin said: “But let’s not beat about the bush. Drugs are still illegal and they are not any less illegal at the Electric Picnic because the Health and Safety Executive is here and if the chief super catches you with drugs trust me he will wheel you to the prison.
He won’t hesitate. He’s very clear on that. At the same time what we can do to help we should do to help.
“Ultimately the best thing to do to stay safe is not take prohibited drugs. It’s not that complicated.
“There’s absolutely no amnesty”.
The Irish Daily Mirror got a sneak peek at the estate and the newly kitted-out areas. First up on the trip was to the brand new Fish Town where Jerry Fish himself posed alongside dancers and performers as he debuted his new dedicated area for the first time.
He told us: “It really is an honour to have a new home in the woods. It is very special and for the first time. We are very excited.”
Picnickers will be treated to pop-up stages, a cafe and The Heart & Anchor bar, with circus, cabaret, burlesque and sideshow performers, as well as the hottest musical acts around at the newly created town.
Heineken’s Greener Bar was up next, which has been developed and designed reusing and recycling materials that will have a life after the festival and a new system of reusable cups will mean less waste, all resulting in a smaller carbon footprint.
At the brand-new Theatre Area, Ballet Ireland mesmerised the crowd with a routine to the rock ‘n’ roll swagger of The Rolling Stones, choreographed by Christopher Bruce.
Finally, The Hothouse, the only waiter-service restaurant at Electric Picnic, served up their first dishes from their menu which is sourced from five independent food producers.
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