REVIEW: CAMP BESTIVAL 2012
Camp Bestival has it all. From skating to jousting and from comedy to discos. Dubbed as the UKs best family festival it doesn’t strike images of excitement or relaxed festival vibes, but Camp Bestival has both of those elements…and more. With fields full of quirky venues, bizarre entertainment and hidden gems there is literally always something to do. You can dance the day and night away in the range of bars that include an inflatable church, a Bollywood themed tent and a classy 1940s themed wooden dance bar. There are huge ramps set up for extreme skaters and BMX riders to flaunt exciting and dangerous stunts and the bizarre entertainment doesn’t even cover half of what you can find at the festival.
The line-up was an excellent mixture of old and new acts, some cutting edge and some settled into their own style. With Hot Chip headlining the Friday following acts such as The Cuban Brothers and Netsky, this day shows the versatility and cutting edge nature of the festival. Thousands of Camp Bestivallers, of all ages, go absolutely crazy for Netsky and Hot Chip and The Cuban Brothers generate a huge crowd on the Main Castle stage . Combine this with the beautiful weather and it’s easy to see why people are so obviously happy, throughout the entire day and evening.
Saturday brings the soul, funk and disco to the festival with a three-way marriage of Earth, Wind & Fire, Chic and Kool & The Gang. The weather doesn’t fade away into regular British drabness, the sun is blazing and thousands of happy faces are led in the sun, cider in hand, taking in everything around them. The brilliant thing about all of the bands stepping onto the stage today is that everyone knows the majority of the songs, you may not think you do, but as soon as the chorus kicks in for any of the uncountable number of hits comes in you can see the gleam of recognition on the faces of all members of the crowds. But this day isn’t just for the members of times already past. Bands such as Rizzle Kicks totally and completely dominate the stage and bring a younger edge to the day.
Sunday brings the bigger names to the festival – with both the Happy Mondays and Jimmy Carr making appearances, neither of which seem like obvious choices for a family festival, but neither of which disappoint. The Happy Mondays are very restrained for their entire set but the crowd are still going crazy and Bez is always a great man for getting the crowd going. Straight after The Happy Monday there is a stunning firework and animated display directly on Lulworth Castle that definitely finishes off a great weekend in a very stunning fashion. But it isn’t over yet, one major comedy headliner remains, Jimmy Carr. He definitely didn’t hold back on his well-known style of offensive humour. The crowd absolutely loved it, with a couple of hecklers dealt with smoothly and brutally.
Overall this festival isn’t just a family festival. It is definitely a festival for all ages with hundreds of events continually going on from 9am straight through till the early hours of the morning DJs, comedians, dancers, poets, spoken word artists, knights and musicians all agree that Camp Bestival is definitely one of the most interesting festivals staged in the UK.
Words: Luke Ford
