Download Festival: A guide to getting to the 2023 rockfest
Tens of thousands of rock fans have begun descending on Donington Park in the East Midlands to mark the 20th anniversary of the Download Festival.
The four day "special edition" event will be held between 8-11th June 2023 at Donington Park in Castle Donington near Leicestershire.
It will be first time the festival has hosted four headline events with headliners including: Bring Me the Horizon and Slipknot.
Camping opened yesterday Wednesday 7 June as an 'arrival’ day but there is an extra day of live music this year which starts the following day rather than on the Friday as usual.
Major roads were expected to be busy but severe congestion' on all roads leading to the Download Festival site around Donington Park yesterday left locals and revellers angry as they recounted their struggles on the motorway.
National Highways has said extra traffic officer patrols will be dispatched, with free recovery being provided to "help keep the roads moving as smoothly as possible."
Following the disruption, John Probyn, festival manager at Download issued an apology on Twitter.
People are being advised to follow road signs and instructions from organisers rather than a sat nav. Roads expected to be busy include:
M1
A42
A50
A38
National Highways Network Resilience Planner, Phil Shaw, said: “We expect the M1, A42, A50 and A38 to see significant increases in traffic over the festival period, particularly when everyone arrives on the Wednesday and again when they leave on Monday.
“If you are attending the Download Festival, when you get within a few miles follow the road signs and the instructions from the organisers rather than your sat nav as they will guide you on the correct route to the correct car park.
“Our advice to all motorists is allow extra time for journeys in that area over the weekend, particularly if you are catching a flight from East Midlands Airport
"And with more warm weather forecast, drivers should also have plenty of water for both themselves and their passengers and make sure they take regular breaks.”
National Highways will also use electronic message boards on nearby motorways to advise people of any delays.
Where is Download Festival?
Donington Park is located next to East Midlands Airport, four miles west of junction 23a of the M1 and five miles from junction 24.
National Highways will be dispatching extra traffic officer patrols and is working with the event organisers to keep the roads moving as smoothly as possible.