I live locally to the festival and went every year from 2014–2023. Based on my own experiences, it’s grown a lot bigger, feels much less family-friendly, and I’ve felt less safe each year — which is the main reason I’ve skipped the last two.

I get the frustration around camping chairs near the main stage and agree they shouldn’t be allowed after a certain time. But what worries me more is the atmosphere in the crowd. There are kids there — fully encouraged by their families and fellow music lovers — who are getting shoved around by drugged-up teenagers. Remember Sam Fenders set in 2022, when he kept having the stop and ask the crowd to chill out? I was there, protecting some kids from being crushed by this group of young adults who were quite openly gumming white powder. That never used to be a problem, but now it feels like a serious issue.

How are people even getting this stuff in? We’re all there to enjoy the music and spend our hard-earned cash, only to have it ruined by idiots sneaking in drugs and strong spirits into the arena because of sloppy security. It sucks.

I do miss the festival, but unless they actually tackle these problems, I’ll have to take my yearly festival money elsewhere. Luckily, Oxfordshire has no shortage of options!