Five sound stages, over 100 artists and with more than 8,000 people already booked to attend, the Connected Festival running overnight at Lydd Airport on October 5 through October 6, is expected to be the largest celebration of drum and bass music since the World Dance raves held at Lydd in the Nineties.
“We’re going to be double the size of World Dance” says Rohan Mulvaney, the man responsible for pulling the entire operation together. “We have a capacity of 12,000 and are on the last of a three-stage ticket release. So far we’ve sold in excess of 8,000 tickets.”
The final tickets are on sale exclusively through ticket agents Skiddle and Deftickets at £45 each with some VIP options still available at £60.
“We’ve used social media to promote the event more than anything else and so far our trending analysis puts us bang on target” added Rohan. “We’ve reached over 400,000 people across all social media platforms with an interested uptake of over 11,000.”
With a demographic age range from 18 through to 50 year olds and an equal male/female gender balance, the festival is bringing people together from all across the UK. “It’s certainly going to be unique” says Rohan. “We’re bringing different genres of music together in one place across five stages. We’ve bands, DJs, House, Garage and everything aimed at creating a celebration of drum and bass music.”
Liaising with all emergency services and a professional security firm has been a vital priority. A zero-tolerance policy on drugs will be enforced and no alcohol will be allowed onto the site. A complete range of food and drink outlets will be on site to cater for every taste.
“We’re encouraging people to use the public transport arrangements we’ve put in place” says Rohan, “but we do have ample parking at £10 per vehicle.” There will be a designated Connected fleet of buses providing a regular shuttle service leaving Ashford International station to Lydd every 30 minutes. In the morning, buses will leave the festival site for Ashford International every 15 minutes.
For a complete list of artists, remaining ticket availability, transport information and other FAQ’s go the Festival website.
Image Credits: Chris Lawson .