Devon and Cornwall Police ready for Boardmasters 2023
Thousands of people are expected to attend the festival
Thousands of people are expected to head to Newquay from today (Wednesday) as the annual Boardmasters Festival gets underway.
The event takes place until Sunday (13 August), with music performances running over the weekend. Headliners include Florence and the Machine, Liam Gallagher and Lorde.
Devon and Cornwall Police officers will be on hand to help organisers ensure it runs smoothly.
Chief Inspector Russ Dawe said: "We have been preparing for the anticipated large number of visitors who will be coming to Newquay for the annual Boardmasters festival, which takes place during one of the busiest periods in Cornwall’s calendar.
"As part of our annual policing operation and to help ensure the event runs smoothly, we will have extra patrols in Newquay for the duration of the festival and we’ll also have a visible presence on the festival site itself.
"The front counter at Newquay Police Station will be open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00am-4.00pm and we will also be deploying resources in and around the road network, town and event, including roads policing, firearms and plain clothed officers, which are all part of our plans to keep residents and visitors safe.
"We urge festival goers to take responsibility for their own safety, in what is one of the busiest weeks of the year in the county.
"Devon and Cornwall Police, in collaboration with the festival organisers, acknowledge that safeguarding underpins all elements of this event and on this basis, we ask you to take care of your friends and family at the festival – we want everyone to enjoy this event in a safe environment."
The festival was founded in 1981 as a surfing competition and has since expanded to include music acts.
Newquay Business Improvement District (BID) Manager, Mark Warren, says it's a "huge thing for Cornwall": "The transport systems, Cornwall Airport Newquay, everybody benefits from it and all the extra revenue that comes."
Boardmasters takes place at two sites: the main arena and camping is situated on a clifftop at Watergate Bay and the surfing competition is held on Fistral Beach.
Mark adds: "We've been working with Boardmasters this year for the first time and we've got a new app that Boardmasters have designed.
"We've got multiple businesses that are in the town centre, so everyone at the event can look at the app and it will tell them what's going on in the town centre, what cafes to go to."