Beginners guide to Sportbeat Festival

Three years ago, something happened which changed Gloucester’s history forever. Before then, the end of August was a quiet time where summer was coming to an end, teenagers were dreading going back to school and everyone was suffering from some serious post-holiday blues. But this year, things are set to be a little different… as Sportbeat festival is returning for 2016. That’s right, the festival is going to be taking over Oxstall’s Sport’s Park on the 20th-21st August and the whole city is going to be alive with music, sport and enough entertainment to keep even the biggest of families happy.

If you’re thinking about going to Sportbeat for the first time or are a bit unsure if it’s the sort of thing you’re into, we’ve created a beginners guide to tell you what it’s all about.

Music line-up and Sports events

Sportbeat are being very secretive about their music line-up right now, but they’ve given us enough info to tease us and make us very intrigued for what is going to be announced next. As far as headliners go, we know that taking centre stage on Sunday night will be British alternative rock band Happy Mondays. Other acts you can expect to see throughout the weekend are Echo & The Bunnymen, Jaguar Skills, Coasts, Duke and NGOD. Like we said, very secretive… but keep an eye on things either on their Twitter  or Facebook page and you may just discover more!

So that’s the music, but it wouldn’t be called ‘Sportbeat’ if there wasn’t a little sport involved. If you fancy the challenge, you and a team of mates can sign up to take part in either a 6-a-side volleyball or netball tournament. Both tournaments include 2 days of competition matches leading up to the grand finals on the final day. Your teams can include a maximum of 10 people and costs £25 per person. If you think you’re up for it then get on the website now and begin to form your dream team.

What else is going on?

The founders and directors of Sportbeat fest are local professional athletes who have performed on the world stage during their careers, so you can be sure that they certainly know how to put on a show. If you decide to camp for the weekend, you will be able to take a supply of food and drink into the campsite with you, but you won’t be able to take anything into the main festival arena. But never fear, there will be plenty of food stalls and bars onsite, including a local Gloucester brewery. If you start to get a bit peckish but are running a bit low on cash, there is a cash machine opposite the arena entrance and a Tesco supermarket less than a mile away.  Or, if your problems are more technical and your phone battery starts to run low, you can take a trip to the Aklass Connections phone charging bank so you don’t have to miss on snapchatting your way through the day.

If you fancy being treated like royalty for the weekend, then you can always upgrade to a VIP ticket, which brings with it a whole host of exclusive treats. Your pass will last for the whole weekend and means you’ll get a prominent position within the arena with the perfect view of the centre stage. You will also get entrance to the exclusive champagne and vodka bar complete with comfy sofas and tables, posh loos and a full hog roast available to you for free each night. You could even get the chance of a meet and greet with some of the stars…

Tickets and Travel

Tickets for Sportbeat fest are still on their first release, so we advise you to get buying soon if you don’t want to miss out on these great prices! An adult ticket to the fest will cost you £52.50 with an extra £10 fee if you want to camp. The prices for youth and child tickets are between £20-£25, but there is also a family ticket and a package option for camping if there are 4 of you sharing a tent. If you’re a proud owner of a campervan, the fest is more than happy for you to bring it along and it will just cost you just £30 extra for the weekend. Oxstalls Sports Park is just 15 minutes away from Gloucester Station, so getting to the festival by train is a quick and easy route for most. You could also check the National Express to find a coach or if you’re more than happy to drive yourself there, car parking tickets cost £10.

For more information, check out  https://www.sportbeatfest.com/ . 

 

Emily Thursfield