Festival Features

BBC Blast: Kate

The 2009 Leeds festival will see 70,000 music lovers heading down to Bramham Park for a weekend of fun and frivolities.

If you are one of this year's lucky ticket holders, take a moment out and spare a thought for all those hard working folk that have been busy building stages, directing throngs of lorries and making sure that this year's festival will be the best yet!

I spent an afternoon at Bramham Park to see what had been taking shape over the last weeks and even months. After a rather hair-raising ride in a golf buggy down to the main arena, I was struck with the what an enormous task it must be to construct all the various stages and attractions.

Heavy lifting is needed for construction

As I arrived on site, the main stage was in its final stages, with only a few pieces still to be put in place. The majority of the other stages had been erected, the toilets had been delivered and the big wheel which usually dominates the festival skyline was taking shape.

There are over 150 people that have been part of building this festival city. They have been working up to 11 hours a day and have to consume over 4000 calories a day to keep their strength up. Every day the catering department get a vast delivery of fresh food, with which they prepare three cooked meals a day for the ravenous on-site crew. Many of the crew that build the stages have been working together all summer on other big festivals. The job is physically demanding and can be dangerous, but after spending a little while in their company, the team clearly enjoy their job, and despite the long tiring hours they remain jovial, often turning the air blue with various anecdotes and banter.

The toilets will never look better...

Over the last few weeks, the festival site at Bramham park has seen a vast amount of traffic through its gates, and manning the entrances were the hard working traffic marshals. They work for up to 12 hours a day, directing lorries and trucks bearing portable toilets, media types in 4X4s and various members of staff.

I spoke to Nicole Sangar, a medical student from Nottingham, who has been down at the site working as a traffic marshal.

“I’ve been staying here at the festival site in my tent, I’ve been here for a couple of weeks and will be here for a few more weeks yet

“The hardest thing is that I work very long hours and am standing up for most of the day, it’s going to get really hectic when all the tour buses start turning up, I am quite nervous about that”

Waiting for the festival hordes

By far the most important person on site is the site manager Luke. Not only is he the man to make things happen, but also the most hard working person there- often starting his day at 6am and sometimes not finishing until 2am. Apparently his job will get busier when the festival gets underway!

So, as you sing along to your favourite songs, sung by your favourite band and soak up the festival atmosphere, spare a thought for the people that have worked so hard to make the festival happen and who will still be there long after you have arrived safely home, and are tucked up in bed recovering from the festival hangover.