It's no longer necessary to lug loads of beer and food to a music festival - not when there is a giant Co-op store on site. Fans at Download 2022 can shop round the clock with the store open daily from 7am to 3am - provided you are prepared to queue.
As soon as people start to get up each morning and the store opens, the queues form - only dying down in the evenings when the main bands, such as headliners Kiss, Iron Maiden and Biffy Clyro, are on stage. At one stage the queue snaked around the car park with about 200 people in it.
A store worker said: "As the last notes die away in the evening, people are back again stocking up on more food and drink to take them through the rest of the night."
Read more: The best-dressed fans at Download Festival 2022
Being so handy on site, inevitably the prices will be more than in the high street but not by much. There is perhaps a mark-up of about 20p-30p on such things as crisps, biscuits and cereals, while cases of lager are cheaper than buying pints at £6.50 in the main arena. Meal deals are available, including sandwiches, soft drink and crisps for £4.50.
As well as being open daily until the early hours, there is a resident in-store DJ so people can rock out while they shop. Paying is also as simple as a tap, with a wide variety of contactless payments accepted including Barclaycard and BPAY.
Additionally, the shop has two machines where plastic bottles can be recycled. Customers pay a deposit on bottles, which they can reclaim and get a voucher to use at the Co-op store. Or, it can be donated to the Co-op Foundation charity instead of taking the voucher. All the bottles that are returned will find a new life as Co-op water bottles.
The top ten Co-op festival essentials, according to the Co-op:
- Ponchos… it wouldn’t be a festival without one
- Crates of beer for your mates
- Big bags of ice for frosty drinks
- Sun lotion because you never know…
- Sandwiches to keep your energy up
- Mixers for the perfect G&T
- Wet wipes to keep you fresh
- Fresh fruit to crank up the Vitamin C
- Ice creams for a sugar rush
- Bottles of wine to celebrate good times
