a PDF of many reviews from 2008

Sunrise Celebration Festival Press Clippings Best in their field Whether you're looking for impeccable green credentials
or a place to strut your festival fashion, here are 10 of the
best festivals in the UK and Ireland…..
Best green credentials: Sunrise Celebration, near Yeovil,
south Somerset
Best green credentials: Sunrise Celebration Festivals are
beginning to get their green acts together and Sunrise Celebration is one of those leading the
way. Festivals listing website virtualfestivals.com voted it greenest out of the 450 or so
festival on their site – and with justification. Sunrise is "aiming to be the most broad-visioned
sustainable festival of its size in the world with 100% renewable power, total carbon
neutrality, recycling and compost toilets all part of its plan", says virtual festivals editor Ross
Purdie. And there's more - their Firefly big top is a completely self sufficient, solar powered
sound stage hosting everything from barn dancing to electric beats.
sunrisecelebration.com/home.php
How much: £70 for an adult weekend early bird (£80 non early bird), £22 for a child
When: May 29 – June 1
Who's playing: The Orb, The Beat, Annie Nightingale, Dragonsfly, Dub Pistols and Three
Daft Monkeys
VF's Top 10 Green Festivals in the UK United Kingdom | by Tom Bentley | 15 March 2008 Amongst the abandoned tents and mounds of plastic cups
it's often difficult to see music festivals as anything other
than an environmental disaster, but in the last 10 years
organisers and fans have started to sit up and take notice.
Almost all scientists now agree that we are experiencing rapid and potentially devastating
climate change and most scientists point to human activity - in particulalr greenhouse gases as the main or at least one of the main the main causes of global warming. It is this
potentially planet threatening issue which has prompted many live music events to go green
as well as help spread environmentally friendly messages.
Pledging to reduce waste and pollution, increase recycling and use renewable energy sources
is now an accepted mantra for many festival organisers. But some festivals are going further
and are now introducing their own initiatives to tackle carbon emissions and reduce
environmental impact - as well as demanding that fans do their bit too.
In a recent survey by Buckinghamshire New University 80% of festival goers said they were
worried about the negative effects of noise, waste and traffic at festivals and 36% of revellers
said they would check out how environmentally friendly a festival is when buying a ticket.
This means that the green credentials of UK festivals have never been so important. Here's 10
who are doing it right.…
1. Sunrise Celebration – 29 May-2 June - Bearley Farm, South Somerset
The Sunrise team have signalled their intent at achieving new heights by aiming to be the
most broad-visioned sustainable festival of its size in the world. The massive factor of
employing 100% renewable power has seen Sunrise top the list. In addition total carbon
neutrality, recycling and compost toilets are all part and parcel of this quirky family festival
that boasts a mad concoction of DJ’s, circus shows, cabaret and music, together with
workshops and green crafts. The Firefly Solar Stage, dubbed as a truly innovative festival
experience, is a completely self-sufficient solar powered sound stage. If you need an extra
dose of today’s favourite colour the Green Innovations and Permaculture tents are just two of
the spots where the dedicated can commit and contribute further to nature’s cause whilst the
curious can develop an awareness and will to engage, even working out your exact impact
using the Carbon Calculator. Viva la green revolution!
From Times Online
March 7, 2008
Britain's 20 best summer music festivals
Twenty weekends, twenty great festivals: Gareth Scurlock selects the best
rock, pop and dance events from May to September
(David Bebber)
Gareth Scurlock
It's that time of the year again, as festival fever grips the nation.
Lineups are being revealed on a nearly daily basis, tickets are going on sale and being snapped up, and you only
have until March 14 to register for an opportunity to join the hoards clambering to get Glastonbury tickets when
they go on sale.
As the number of festivals balloons, the festival calendar bulges to accommodate them - the first outdoor
festivals kick off before the end of May and the last ones stretch to the end of September.
Long gone are the days when Glastonbury heralded the start of summer at the end of June, and the Reading
Festival brought an end to proceedings on August Bank Holiday. …
MAY 31
Sunrise Celebration, Somerset
A smaller, cheaper, family-friendly festival with a hippy vibe, the music includes ambient legends The Orb,
psychedelic, electronic pioneers System 7 and ska band The Beat.
Expect a lot on the performance art side of things and plenty to keep the kids happy. Oh, and it is eco-friendly,
claiming to be 100% sustainably powered, and Micheal Eavis has compared it to Glastonbury in its early years.
Dates: Thursday, May 29 - Sunday, June 1. Tickets: £88 from the festival website
Uh Oh! No Sun at Sunrise Sarah Dryden in June 19, 2008 Wellies?! More like fishing waders Tragedy struck this year’s Sunrise festival thanks to an extreme downpour of rain which left
most of the festival space completely flooded. Having to close its doors to over six thousand
festival goers on the opening day, the abysmal weather wasn’t the only sky looking grey.
With a month’s worth of rain falling on the area in the short time before the event, thoughts
turned to ones of irony as the UK’s leading independent green festival became living proof of
the effects of climate change.
Katherine Ritchie, Sunrise spokesperson, commented: “After last summer’s freak weather
and the start of this one following a similar pattern, even those people who took the view of;
‘at least we’d get nicer weather now that the planet was heating up’, are starting to realise
exactly what climate change means for us all. Now is the time for everyone to start taking
positive action in our own lives and helping get the information out to the wider population”.
All is not lost though, as iconic festival veterans Big Chill have come to the rescue armed
with a field in Herefordshire. Big Chill – which takes place from 1st-3rd August – have
allowed Sunrise to use one of their fields so that their festival can still take place (albeit on a
smaller scale).
So, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining (and the one that hung over Sunrise was pretty
damn big). Make sure you show your support for green living by going along to the Big
Chill, 1st-3rd August, at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire. You can pick up tickets here - see
you there!
That Big Chill feel takes a dive
(Friday 08 August 2008)
STAR AT THE FESTIVALS: Big Chill
Eastnor Park, Herefordshire
IF there's one thing the Big Chill festival does, it's keep you fit.
Set in the rolling hills of the Herefordshire countryside, it must be the prettiest of all the British
festival sites. And, if there's one thing that'll do you good after a day's partying, it's the equivalent
of a hundred lunges to get you up the steep hill to Bedfordshire and a tent perched precariously at
a 24-degree angle on the other side of the valley.
This year, the Big Chill was even bigger because of the addition of the Sunrise field to the site.
In May, the little eco-friendly and sustainable festival Sunrise Celebration, lauded by some as the
best on the British festival circuit, was left underwater by flash floods, causing it to be cancelled at
the last minute and leaving hundreds of festival-goers stranded in the deep mud. The organisers
didn't have cancellation insurance.
But the Big Chill stepped in, saving the festival, allowing Sunrise to put on a mini version of their
event and letting punters swap their tickets for Big Chill ones.
The Sunrise field turned out to be a peaceful haven from the rest of the Big Chill, which, as
oppposed to previous years, was overpacked with revellers who didn't seem to care about the
festival's leave-no-trace policy, shamefully leaving beer cans and fag butts in their wake and using
the once-pristine grass as one huge personal rubbish bin.
The site still looked fantastic at night, with the trees lit up in rainbow hues and lights on the lake
casting their glow over the gently rising mist.
As for the music, big-name DJs seemed to be the order of the day, with Mr Scruff providing
eccentric sillyness on the Saturday night, when his daft grooves were really much more suited to
the sunshine.
DJ Krush was a big pull at the dance tent on the Friday and The Orb crashed and burned with a set
of wishy-washy chilled electronica on the Castle Stage.
But where were the likes of the Easy Star All-Stars or the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain of
previous years, providing sun-drenched summer grooves on a blissed-out Sunday? The closest we
got to it this year was Dutch DJ trio Kraak en Smaak's reggae mix-up in the Cocktail Tent.
There were gems, though, to keep the spirit alive.
The spectacular Hot Eight Brass Band from New Orleans blasted their lungs out to a rapt crowd at
the Open Air Stage on Saturday.
And, of course, Leonard Cohen warmed the cockles of everyone's hearts before the long trek home
on Sunday night.
Let's hope, though, that the Big Chill doesn't continue in this direction, otherwise, unlike its rolling
topography, it'll be all downhill from here.
Festival fever hits Suffolk 12 May 2007 | 12:29 THIS year sees the biggest number of outdoor concerts, festivals and
gigs the UK has ever witnessed…Then there's a little-known festival
called the Sunrise Celebration that takes place over the summer
solstice in Devon. Best known for its pioneering compost lavatories,
the festival is powered solely by renewable energy, has an organiconly food policy and appoints eco-rangers to oversee carbonThere are several
reducing measures.
mini-festivals in
Suffolk this summer
Explore the BBC
BBC News Updated every minute of every day
UK festival fever on the increase
By Philippa Bradley
BBC Money Programme
This summer over 3 million of
us will go to a festival, and
with over 500 to choose from
in the UK alone, what started
as flower power is now big
business.
Promoters are looking for their
slice of what's estimated to be a
Heritage acts like the Sex Pistols are in
billion pound industry but as John vogue at festivals
Giddings, organiser of the Isle of Wight Festival explains, it's not
easy.
"It's the biggest gamble in the world. You gamble millions of pounds,
hoping that people will buy tickets to see the bands you think they
want to see.
"And if you're lucky you can make money at the end, but it's a very
quick way of losing money if you don't get it right."
'Eternal teenager'
It's not just the young that promoters are hoping to attract. Many
bigger festivals are designed to attract customers of all ages.
Melvin Benn, organiser of the Reading and Leeds festivals which
attract 140,000 fans, says: "The idea of being an eternal teenager is
very much on the agenda, and I'm rather pleased that it is actually,
because that means that people still want to go to festivals when
they're 30, 40 and 50."
Richard Cope, Senior Leisure Analyst at Mintel, agrees. "This is the
first time we've had this generation who are traditionally time and
cash rich, this is the first time we've had a generation in this
segment who have grown up with rock and roll."
Booking the right headliners to
attract ticket sales is key, and it's
no coincidence that so-called
heritage acts like The Sex Pistols
and The Police who can attract
older, wealthier fans have
headlined festivals this summer.
Ticket sales are increasingly
The Kaiser Chiefs at the Isle of Wight
important to festival promoters as this year
lucrative sponsorship deals become a less popular source of income.
This year Melvin Benn decided against renegotiating a long-standing
sponsorship deal with Carling.
"Very simply I didn't want it to be called the 'something something'
Reading Festival or the 'something something' weekend.
"I wanted it to be called Reading Festival and Leeds Festival. That
was a lucrative sponsorship and it will cost me a fair bit of money,
but I think in the long run it was the right thing to do."
'Ethical standpoint'
And promoter Vince Power made his decision not to have branding
and sponsorship a selling point of his Hop Farm festival in Kent.
He says: "Sponsorship is not going to stop, but it's refreshing as you
go around the site you're not going to fall over a brewery sign."
The Sunrise Celebration Festival in Somerset turned down sponsors
for different reasons.
Sophie Docker, one of the organisers, explains: "We won't make any
kind of arrangements with any organisations that don't have the
same kind of ethical standpoint that we do.
"We've had some offers from people that we've turned down
because it's not green enough for us."
It's a principled stance, but does it make good business sense?
Peter Florence, founder and
organiser of the Hay Literary
Festival, says its sponsorship
deals are crucial.
"We have 5% of our budget from
the public purse, 70% of our
budget from ticket sales, but
without the money from Sky and
Emirates and The Guardian then
Glastonbury was reported to have
ticket sales problems
we'd be stuffed."
But is the market getting too crowded? Sixteen summer festivals
have already been cancelled, and even Glastonbury was reported to
have had difficulty selling all its tickets.
Organisers say fans are just getting too picky and won't shell out
unless the biggest acts are lined up.
However, it wasn't the sponsorship deal, or lack of it, that scuppered
Sunrise, but the good old British weather.
With the worst flash floods for twenty years hitting Somerset the
night before its opening, the event was cancelled: an indication that
the festival business always carries unforeseen risks.
'More small festivals'
And what of the future? Vince Power thinks the current number of
festivals is unsustainable.
"We're obviously going into a recession; at least that's what
everyone tells us," he says.
"So I think there'll be a lot of festivals that will go under because of
lack of sales. I think the big names will survive. The little ones, they
will find it hard to make ends meet. "
Melvin Benn also believes there will be a shake-out in the industry.
"I think there'll be a continued diversity of more small festivals, but I
think the number of people running them will be less.
"I think the big promoters will eventually buy up a number of
smaller ones, no different to normal high street businesses in that
sense."
The Money Programme's Festival Fever will be shown on BBC
2 at 1900 BST on Friday, 11 July.
Superstars; Festival Fever!; Would I Lie to
You?; Shark
Tonight's TV
David Chater
Festival Fever!
BBC Two, 7pm
Last year, more than 500 music and arts festivals took place in Britain in an industry worth more than £1 billion.
So how does someone set about becoming an impresario? Ever helpful, The Money Programme compares two
events – the established Isle of Wight Festival and the fledgeling Sunrise Celebration in Somerset – to see if one
can learn from the other. What you don’t want, under any circumstances, is torrential rain. But you do need to
sign up a couple of big headline acts so other groups will follow. That enables you to sell out in advance, and
then corporate sponsorship is the icing on the cake. But beware. “It’s a very quick way of losing money if you
don’t get it right,” says the Isle of Wight’s John Giddings.
As Myleene smiles in the mud, why Britain faces a summer of floods By Tom Kelly
Last updated at 11:05 AM on 31st May 2008
•
•
Comments (8) Add to My Stories Britain faces a summer of flash floods, with short sunny spells punctuated by frequent
downpours, forecasters predict.
The gloomy prediction came as a massive clean-up operation was launched after a sudden
deluge in the West Country.
Families fled their homes and motorists had to abandon their cars as rainwater swept through
Devon and Somerset on Thursday.
And at the Sunrise Festival in Yeovil, music-lovers - including TV presenter Myleene Klass struggled through a mudbath after the main arena was swamped with water. The festival was
later cancelled.
Enlarge Singer Myleene Klass smiles as she walks in the mud in the flooded main arena at the Sunrise
Festival in Yeovil. The event was later cancelled
Met Office forecaster Barry Gromet said: 'We will see more of this kind of weather through
the summer.
'There is no hint of any prolonged period of a week or two weeks of sunny dry weather.
There will be an increased frequency in the most intense rainfall.
'I do not think anywhere is immune. When you get such intense rainfall in a short period then
quite often it overtakes the drainage capabilities and that results in these torrents of water and
flash flooding. People will need their bucket and spade, wellies, sun cream and rain hat if
they are taking their holiday in Britain.'
The torrential rain in the West Country transformed roads into mini-rivers, with the force of
the cascading water smashing down walls and ripping up tarmac.
At the storm's peak, the fire brigade was taking calls every 20 seconds from worried residents
and motorists.
Councils have been accused of failing to prepare for the heavy rain.
Homeowners in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, claimed officials had not done enough to protect
the town since it was flooded in October 2006. Mortgage adviser Tim Hoddinott, whose
kitchen was swamped with 18 inches of water, said: 'This has happened due to years of
neglect by the local authorities.'
Parting the waves: A car drives through a flash flood in Shepton Mallet, Somerset
Enlarge Paddle: A man tries to cross the street but the rain water proves too much for the drainage
system
The 47-year-old said his family faced three months of living elsewhere - just as they did in
2006, when their repair bill was £35,000.
Paul Farnborough and his wife Charlotte, who live in nearby Crewkerne, saw their house
flooded the day they moved in.
Mr Farnborough said: 'At about 7pm there was thunder and lightning, and we started to
notice a small puddle outside. We didn't really give it much thought.
'Within five to ten minutes we were flooded out, it was that quick.
'We're pretty devastated, it's not what you expect on the day you move in.'
Stephen and Elizabeth Todd had their home flooded days after returning from their
honeymoon.
Web developer Mr Todd, 26, said: 'It's not a great start to our marriage.
'We hadn't even opened our wedding presents but managed to rescue them by taking them
upstairs.
'But my car is a complete write-off - the water was as high as the dashboard - and it's just
ruined it.'
An overflowing ford flooded the packed Huntsman pub in the village of Ide, near Exeter.
Landlady Carol Wright, 48, said: 'Water suddenly started flowing in through the back door,
so we opened the front door to have a look and it was surging in from there as well.
'We were suddenly standing in eight inches of water.'
And at the Sunrise Festival outside Yeovil - which has been nicknamed the 'baby
Glastonbury' - five thousand revellers were sent home after the arena became hopelessly
waterlogged.
Smiling in the rain: Myleene takes the wet weather in her stride
Still smiling: Just don't take a stumble Myleene
Enlarge About to land in it: Myleene struggles to keep her footing
Enlarge Close shave: Still standing despite the near-miss
Meanwhile, police were so concerned about people leaving the Bath & West Agricultural
Show safely that an RAF helicopter was nearly scrambled to pluck them from the roofs of
their cars after scores got stuck in the mud.
Luckily, firemen were able to remove everyone safely on their own.