Music

Get ready for Bestival 2014

It is one week until the magic wonderland that is Bestival opens its doors to the great and good of the country. I was there last year and all I can say to those of you who will be there again with me this year, we are in for a treat, my friends.

Being the organised creature that I am, I’ve pulled together this handy little things to do list so that you are ready to get out there and have the best weekend EVER.

1. Make sure you have your transport booked

Unless you’re lucky enough to live on the island, you need to remember that there is the small matter of a body of water to cross to get to the Isle of Wight. You can’t just roll out of bed on the day and hope that you’ll figure it out somehow. If you plan in advance you can be on the Isle from London in under three hours.

2. Buy your fancy dress costume

In case you hadn’t already heard (where have you been?), Bestival is renowned for its fancy dress themes. People spend months creating masterpieces, there’s even a book about them. This year the theme is Desert Island Disco and you still have time to create some kind of glitter luau outfit, purchase some tentacles to go as a Discoball Octopus or tap into this season’s tropical fruit trend and cover yourself in pineapple accessories. Anything (within theme) goes, so let your imagination run wild.

3. Remind yourself how great Outkast is

The line-up for Bestival this year is simply fantastic. I mean, really, really good. There will be live music from Caribou, SBTRKT, Chvrches, Laura Mvula, Clean Bandit, Bonobo, Sam Smith, Major Lazer, Busta Rhymes, Beck, Foals and Chic ft. Nile Rodgers (and those are just the people at the top of my line-up). But now, let’s all just take a moment to realise that Outkast will be headlining. Outkast have been around for YEARS. They have SO MANY classics. There’s Hey Ya! (don’t tell me you’ve never shaken it like a Polaroid picture), Ms. Jackson, Roses, So Fresh, So Clean, The Way You Move,.. it’s going to be great. Trust me.

4. Start lunging

Bestival is your chance to show off any and all of your best (and worst) dance moves. Just check out this A-Z of DJs who are going to be spinning some tracks over the four days. With the promise of acrobats, huge pyrotechnics and incredible soundsystems, you really need to get warmed up and ready to hit the dancefloor.

5. Familiarise yourself with the site

There is so much more to Bestival than just the insane music line-up. There are ten different areas that you can get to grips with by clicking here. There will be comedians, hidden experiences, one of the best disco tents (provided by Sink the Pink), hell, last year I even saw a blind date tent. The food is to die for, the Wagamamas pop up is famous, there’s the opportunity to eat a roast dinner from food that was otherwise going to be wasted and the Breakfast Club will be flipping pancakes for anyone who fancies them. Get ready for an incredible experience and I’ll see you there.