The Bestival

More than 30,000 music fans flocked to Robin Hill Country Park near Newport over the weekend of the 7th, 8th and 9th of September for the forth-annual Bestival.

The mammoth musical extravaganza was bigger than ever for 2007 and tickets sold out in May, despite provisions being made for the site to accommodate an additional 5,000 festival-goers. Over 300 musicians and DJ's performed to crowds amidst a variety of 14 different locations. From the main stage to the Big Top, Club Dada and the Bandstand, each of the venues boasted their very own unique and individual themes.

The ultimate feel-good festival

The gates to the largest music festival ever to be held at Robin Hill Country Park opened at 10am on Friday morning, with Islanders witnessing scenes replicating those experienced in June for the Isle of Wight Festival at Seaclose Park. Thousands of people descended upon the ferry ports and bundled into buses and taxis bound for the centre of the Island, leading to long delays on roads in the immediate vicinity. A dozen enthusiastic individuals decided to by-pass the ferries altogether by swimming across the Solent for charity. The first swimmer reached Ryde just before 2pm on Friday afternoon after departing off the shores of Gosport several hours beforehand. This highly commendable yet slightly absurd and illogical act in many ways went on to set the tone for the entire weekend!

The Bestival, which first burst into the Island's music scene in 2004, is the innovative creation of Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank, wife and Creative Director Josie, plus co-founders John and Ziggy from PR company Get Involved. The event itself derived from ten years of pioneering fun musical events and record releases from Rob da Bank's Sunday Best empire. Often referred to as one of the friendliest festivals you could ever hope to attend, happiness and enjoyment is without any doubt, the name of the game at the Bestival. It is probably fair to say that the down-to-earth, highly original yet wondrously eccentric experience generated carries equal significance to the wealth and variety of musical marvels on offer during the course of the three-day phenomenon.

Back with another one of those block rockin' beats!

Headlining the Friday evening slot on the main stage this year were the larger than life Chemical Brothers who are frequently classed as one of the UK's finest live acts and pioneers of the 'big beat' electronic dance genre. Their stunning audio-visual set incorporating anthems such as 'Block Rockin' Beats' and 'Hey Boy Hey Girl' complete with spectacular laser beams propelling through the night sky left audiences completely spellbound.

Hip Hop legends the Beastie Boys from New York City set the stage alight on the Saturday with their traditional eclectic live renditions of sublime party music. Their kitschy lyrics and wacky humour combined superbly to heighten the off-beat, freethinking spirit of the Bestival. Having spent the night locally at the Seaview Hotel, the rap trio returned to captivate crowds for a second time when they appeared for a Gala Event exclusive instrumental show on Sunday afternoon. It was later left to Scottish rock group Primal Scream to bring the show to a close with a bang on Sunday night by flaunting over 15 years of hits. These included the infamous 'Loaded' and 'Rocks' plus the more recent 'Country Girl' and several awesome examples of their brand new material.

"Madness, madness, they call it gladness…"

Also appearing in the main arena throughout the course of the weekend were The Levellers, Gregory Isaacs, Kate Nash, Soul II Soul Soundsystem, the Maccabees, Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe and Bestival favourites the Cuban Brothers, to name but a few. English musician Billy Bragg who is renowned for his blend of folk, punk-rock and protest music told iwight.com that to him, the Isle of Wight stands out as a thoroughly unique venue for the simple reason that no one ever really comes here by accident. "There is definitely something special about making that journey across the water which makes you feel as though you are being transported to another land, somehow encouraging you lose all of your inhibitions and completely relax."

This year also saw the introduction of a 'Surprise Guest' slot being added to the line-up and to the absolute delight of everyone, as the sun began setting behind the trees on the Saturday afternoon, English pop/ska band Madness took centre stage. Not content with rolling back the years on the main stage, front man Suggs enraptured unsuspecting crowds in the Loose Tea tent that lunchtime by performing an impromptu set of classic hits including 'It Must Be Love' and 'My Girl.' The group, who achieved much of their outstanding success in the 1980's, joked with the audience about the secrecy surrounding their performance, and apologised to anyone under the illusion that the surprise guest may have been Robbie Williams!

Pirates, wenches, kings, queens, witches and wizards…

Hot on the heels of the previous two Bestival's which have both succeeded in breaking world records for the most people to be wearing fancy-dress in one place in the world, the theme for this year's parade took its inspiration from a poem recently written by curator Rob da Bank entitled 'One Night on the Isle of Wight.' It was thanks to this poetic expression that several large groups of pirates, wenches, kings, queens, witches and wizards could be seen conspiring across the Bestival site. With the fancy-dress parade kicking off at 3:15pm on Saturday afternoon, thousands saw this as the ideal opportunity to transform themselves into someone else for the day (or for the entire weekend if the fancy took them!) and to dress up in weird and wonderful clothing.

With such enthusiasm for this novel Bestival pastime, it was good to see that the Dressing Up area had increased in size this year to offer even more in the way of retro and vintage clothes, face-painting, hair-styling and make-up plus some of the most outrageous wardrobe accessories imaginable. The popular free newspaper entitled 'Bestival Bugle' was on hand throughout the course of the weekend to supply festival-goers with updates on all the latest news, activities and developments, including the results of the subsequent cat-walk show as judged by the High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight - David Langford.

Please visit our online Flash gallery which contains highlights of the colourful fancy-dress parade including costume capers around the site throughout the Bestival's duration.

New for 2007

Some superb new additions to Bestival 2007 included the 'Restival' - an area set aside purely for relaxation purposes and fending off any festival fatigue. The pure vastness of the site and the sheer amount of activities on offer ensured that a visit to the Restival was an absolute must! Festival-goers were able to quite literally recharge their batteries in the section of the site committed to making the world a greener place. Located in the heart of the Bestivalley, facilities existed for people to charge their mobile phones, make Bestival bunting and a model clay Bestival village, plus learn about climate change in the 'Our Future Is Green' section.

If the general sights and sounds of the Bestival site weren't enough to keep a permanent smile on your face, the 'Jestival' featured a whole host of top name comedians such as Phil Jupitas and Ed Byrne plus many rising stars fresh from the stages of the recent Edinburgh Festival. The 24-hour field contained several new surprises in the form of Club Dada, the House of Bamboo, Pink Flamingo, Time for Tease and the BBC Introducing tent amongst others. There truly was something for everyone, no matter how unconventional your taste!

Keep it local, keep it clean and keep it green

Much like the IOW Festival, the Bestival is an excellent showcase for local talent and as the opening act on the first day of the event, it was down to Island band Hugo Frusslinky to launch the proceedings on the main stage. The group won the opportunity to play at the event after being named as Best Band at the recent talent auditions at The Venue Ryde Theatre back in July.

Local produce was also on the menu in a number of the mouth-watering food outlets; with many festival-goers enjoying the freshest corn-on-the-cob grown just two miles down the road in nearby Arreton. With culinary delights spanning the entire globe, including the Philippine Village, Specialty Far East Cuisine, Caribbean Food, Thai, Indian and Chinese, plus freshly made crepes, fair trade real coffee, the Fine Burger Company and not forgetting the Isle of Wight Women's Institute tent where you could pick up a cup of tea and slice of cake for just £1! The variety of refreshments obtainable easily rivaled the diverse supply of entertainment available across the Bestival site.

To ensure maximum enjoyment of all that Bestival 2007 had to offer, festival-goers were asked to 'Keep Bestival Tidy' by following a couple of simple steps to make the site a continually pleasant place to be. The 'Green Team' were visible throughout the weekend encouraging people to pick up their litter, keep the area around their tent tidy, use the toilet facilities provided and recycle their plastic bottles and drinks cans.

Twenty pairs of guest tickets to next year's Bestival were awarded to the most considerate campers who were seen to make the greatest effort in clearing up after themselves on the Monday morning after the event, when thousands departed the Robin Hill valley - exhausted, but with enough cheery memories to keep them smiling for at least another year.

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