Splendour Festival has drawn to a close after thousands of music fans visited Wollaton Park over the two days in record numbers. There were 20,000 visitors each day on both Saturday and Sunday, July 23 and 24.
The main stage had performances from Craig David, Supergrass and Richard Ashcroft while Happy Mondays, Anne Marie, Vicky McClure and The Dementia Choir performed on Sunday across the two stages. Fans were delighted with the family atmosphere in the park with many coming to see sets from Annemarie, Becky Hill and Happy Mondays.
Joe Clark and Katie Jarman from East Leake travelled in specially to see Anne Marie. "We've enjoyed the vibe as it's really relaxing here and we like the family atmosphere. It's aimed at everyone and it's been really easy to get in here too. We came to see Annemarie and Example too. We saw Razorlight before so we were pleased to catch them too," they said.
Megan Ward, Daisy Burt, Holly Gordon, Abbie Shepard and Libby Harris-Cormick have travelled from Dorest, Sussex and Long Eaton to attend the festival. They have been here for both days and enjoyed Annemarie's set.
"We've really enjoyed it and it's been really good fun. The queues have been a bit long but it's a festival after all. There have been some good vibes here."
Managing Director of DHP George Akins has been on site for both days and is delighted with the attendance. Attendance has been steady across the two days with Sunday drawing slightly less than Saturday. However, the event is now at the biggest capacity it has ever had.
"The first day went really well and the acts were amazing. Craig David in particular absolutely smashed it," he said. "He wowed the crowd and everyone got so involved. It was the perfect late afternoon set. I had forgotten how many hits he had."
"I'll be making a beeline for Human League today as they have had so many hits and people know all the songs. I want to see Ocean Colour Scene who played the very first splendour so they are returning this year same with Human League. I've known the Happy Mondays for a long time and it's going to be an emotional day."
When it comes to proud moments, there are many over the years for George as the festival has been happening since 2008. For George, it's all about what it means for Nottingham.
"Every time you get up on that stage and you see thousands of people out there you always get a buzz. People come up to me to say how great it is for Nottingham and it is a special day out for people. Many people see it as a reunion and come back year on year. I was so proud when we had Jake Bugg and we had some strong Nottingham talent owning the stage and I want that to happen again."
Although after two years he admits that supplies have been difficult and there have been a few issues with the bar, all of these were rectified ahead of Sunday's crowd and the atmosphere at the historic Wollaton Park was electric.
"Everyone is a little bit rusty after two years off and there are a lot of new people involved. There is a little bit more training to do and it's not quite as well-oiled a machine as it used to be but it's been really great," he said.
He added: "Generally there have been difficulties with all supplies across the industry as a whole. Just getting the kit you need with the experienced staff you need has been a struggle but that's been caused by the pandemic as people have been leaving the industry and the number of events that are on this year."
The festival trialled a new system for the first time which saw long queues form at each of the bars on site. There were five in total alongside smaller bars such as a carnival-themed cocktail bar, a bar in the VIP and a Kopperberg cider bar.
"This is part of the rustiness and we put a new till system in this time around. We normally have a different system and it was too slow to cope. We dealt with it last night so there shouldn't be any issues today. We will endeavour to never have that happen again," he said.
"It was a difficult thing but we don't want to hide away from it but it has been dealt with," he admitted.
With the festival now finished for the year, fans will be keen to know what is planned ahead of Splendour 2023. George is keeping quiet but confessed that the first headline act has been confirmed.
"We have confirmed our first act but I can't say who it is. It's not definite but we are going to endeavour to put it on over two days again next year. That's what we are working on now."
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