Download Festival 2024 survival guide

Planet Rock has compiled a handy guide to the essential items you might need to survive Download Festival this year – especially if you’re spending the weekend under canvas.

Celebrating its 21st glorious year in 2024, Download Festival takes place from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th June 2024.

Headlined by Queens of the Stone Age, Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold, Download Festival also boasts performances from Black Stone Cherry, Pantera, The Struts, Tom Morello, Those Damn Crows, Royal Blood, Kerry King, Mr. Bungle, Corey Taylor, Limp Bizkit, Florence Black, and many more.

Feature: Download Festival 2024 stage times

Download Festival 2024 survival guide:

The campsite:

A good-sized tent – It’s a fallacy that ‘two-man tents’ are big enough for two fully grown men or women with backpacks, drinks and other festival essentials. So unless you want to be chewing your tent mate’s elbows every night, buy a tent that’s plenty big enough.

Tent pegs and poles – Before you set off make sure you’ve got enough pegs to erect a nice taught abode for the weekend - the last thing you need is a pathetic sagging tent. Double check that you’ve got all your poles too.

Gazebos – Not only a great place to relax with friends, they provide shelter from the rain and, if you’re very lucky, shade from the sun. Gazebos are allowed at Download Festival within reasonable size limits.

Torch – Great if you need to find something at night in your tent, torches are also an essential for negotiating the matrix of intertwined tent guide ropes during night-time toilet runs. Pack one in case your phone battery is running low. Top tip: a head torch keeps your hands free whilst rummaging in your tent at night / visiting the loo / holding drinks!

Camping chair – Whether it’s thanks to rain or dew, the ground around your tent can often be moist so a chair to rest your weary legs is a must. Camping chairs are also allowed in the main arena at Download.

Air bed – Most people take simple foam camping mats but these do little to cushion that pointed rock you’ve expertly positioned your tent on. Take an air bed - your Download experience will be so much comfier.

Warm sleeping bag – Even during a Donington heatwave, it can be chilly in your tent at night. Pack a nice warm sleeping bag to keep those chills at bay.

Travel towel - These microfibre marvels pack down super small in your bag, and also dry out much quicker than your standard bath towel. Just hang it up inside your tent porch when you leave the campsite and it'll be dry by the time you get back.

A trolley - Ever been lugging your own bodyweight in camping gear onto a festival site, hands being cut to ribbons by straps, sweating profusely, and seen a cheery person pass you as you take your 15th rest in 12 minutes? Be one of the cheery trolley people. Yes they can be expensive, and they're not exactly train-friendly but if you can, get one with big inflatable wheels (technically called a "garden trolley") to handle the inevitable mud and gravel. You can't put a price on arriving at a festival and not becoming an immediate sweaty wreck.

Keeping clean & healthy:

Toilet roll – Make sure you don’t leave your tent without at least a handful of toilet roll; you really don’t want to be caught short.

Hand sanitizer – For obvious reasons.

Wet wipes – Handy for a quick body scrub if you can’t be bothered queuing for the showers.

Dry shampoo – Unless you want to rock the ‘hair soaked in chip fat’ look for the entire weekend, treat your greasy mane to a dry shampoo.

Shower gel and shampoo - There are showers on site, which can be busy in the morning but relatively quiet throughout the rest of the day.

Bin bags - An essential item if you want to keep your living area habitable! Great for rubbish, empty beer cans, muddy clothes and they can also double as a ground sheet.

Travel mirror – Always very handy, for checking makeup / suncream applicaton / facepaint / errant toothpaste...

Sun lotion – Packing sun lotion may feel like you’re tempting fate but take some anyway - unless you want to look like a lobster all weekend.

Medication - Remember to take any prescription drugs with you that you need, and if you’re a hay fever sufferer pack some antihistamines.

Plasters – Invaluable for those sore feet from pounding many miles across the sacrosanct Donington Park turf.

Rehydration products - In case you overdo it, you might want to pack some rehydration products to help make you feel human again.

Clothing:

Wellies – Arguably the most important item of clothing to take to a festival. Pack even if sunshine is forecast, you never know!

Suitable clothing – Pack clothes to suit all weather conditions. Even if it’s baking hot during the day it can get icy cold at night so warm clothes are a must. Don’t forget to pack your favourite band T-shirts. Comfy walking shoes are also a great idea.

This might sound like blasphemy, but you could even experiment with a shirt that’s got some colour on it! You’ll stand out more in the sea of black shirts, so your mates can find you if you get separated, and in case of baking hot weather, you might not get quite as warm.

Sunglasses – Not just a fashion accessory, shades are crucial to avoid squinting all weekend while watching the plethora of incredible bands.

Waterproofs – Take a waterproof jacket. Even on sunny days, it might be an idea to carry an emergency ‘cag in a bag’ around with you in case there’s a sudden downpour. Plus, when the sun goes down, a waterproof jacket will act as a windcheater and keep the cool night breeze out.

Thick socks – Wellington boot chafage is one of the most common ailments at festivals. Circumnavigate this problem by wearing extra-long, extra-thick socks.

Decent sized bag – You don’t really want to be trekking back to the campsite more than you need to so take a small bag to hold any essentials. Bags must be A4 size or under (30cm height x 8cm depth x 21cm width) in order to enter the arena.

Hats – Another multi-purpose festival item, hats hide greasy, straggly hair, help your mates find you in the crowd and also provide a great sunshade. You might also want to invest into a trademark viking helmet too!

Umbrella – These are allowed on the camp site but not the main arena.

Eating & Drinking:

Food basics – Some snacks are vital to help you keep those all-important energy levels up. Cereal, biscuit bars and fruit are all great for a quick snack between meals. As always, there will be plenty of stalls on the Download Festival site serving a wide array of food.

Cooking stoves – Select disposable BBQs and permitted cooking stoves are allowed on the camping site. Check the Download Festival website for more information.

Cool bags – Depending on how much grub you’re planning to take to a festival, cool bags will help keep your food fresher for longer. In a baking hot tent, however, cool bags don’t stay too cool for long.

Water – Whether you're drinking alcohol or not, it’s important to stay hydrated with plenty of water throughout the day and night! Make sure you always have some water in your tent and regularly top up at water points throughout the weekend.

Alcohol – Attendees over the age of 18 can bring alcohol onto the Download Festival campsites (excessive amounts not allowed), however it’s prohibited in the main arena. No glass is allowed on site!

Cups and cutlery – An oft overlooked item, these are always extremely useful if you’re having a cup of tea, alcoholic beverage or some food around the camping area with friends.

Other Download Festival essentials:

Don't bring money – The 2024 event is cashless so don't bother bringing cash. You can pay by card or with apps such as Apple Pay and Google Play.

Mobile phone charger - A portable mobile phone charger is an absolute godsend!

If you don't have one, Download Festival has joined forces with Charge Candy at this year’s event. You can hire one of their portable chargers and swap once a day for a full charger. More info here.

Valid ID - At times you may be required to show a valid form of ID whilst at Download; where the event operates a Challenge 21 Policy on site at bars and cigarette stalls.

Download Festival app – Make sure you download the official Download Festival app before you set off for all the latest news, and you can also build your own personalised schedule so you don’t miss any of your favourite bands. Make sure you turn notifications on for news about secret sets, special offers and more.

You can find out more information on the Download Festival website.

The very first Download Festival in photos:

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