Boardmasters chaos as revellers abandon their cars to WALK to festival after 58,000 tourists flock to seaside town
Local businesses have criticised how the event has been organised
THOUSANDS of not-so-happy campers are walking to their festival site rather than waiting in heavy traffic, leaving their lifts in the road.
The coastal festival Boardmasters has attracted over 58,000 people which has lead to extreme congestion in Newquay, Cornwall.
Roads remain packed as hoards of commuters descend on the main routes leading into the festival site.
Two ticket-holders from Hastings relayed to how the journey had been a ‘bit of a headache’ but seemed content now that they had arrived.
Others appeared happy to have finally have arrived, with one complimenting the surf town.
“Newquay is a nice place for me, I live near Birmingham so it’s not like the best of areas, but down in Newquay it’s really nice so I think it will be a good time there.
“We haven’t got beaches up in Birmingham, it’s just minging rivers really.”
Many travellers who flocked to the surf town were seen lugging tents and camping equipment with them, preparing for a weekend of music, waves and raves.
Despite thousands of festivalgoers arriving yesterday, in Cornwall warn that today is expected to be even busier.
Multiple roads near the campsite were closed earlier this week to enable safe crossing points and walking areas.
This may have exacerbated the issue and led to the lengthy queues around Watergate Bay.
The five-day festival started yesterday and finishes on Sunday, offering headlining acts Stormzy, Sam Fender, and Chase & Status, with traffic is said to be at a high level throughout.
Attempts to control the congestion were implemented by the festival organisers with a travel leaflet.
The emoji-threaded pamphlet explains the best way to arrive via bus, car, train, and plane.
Park and Ride services and local coaches are also available which have been described on the leaflet as ‘hassle free.’
Cornwall police have been ‘shipping’ visitors directly to the festival from the station, according to Newquay residents.
This has garnered criticism from local shop-owners who claim they they are preventing potential business from their stores.
Far from its humble beginnings, the event now brings in over £40m according to Newquay’s Business Improvement District manager Mark Warren.
Starting as a surfing contest in 1981 the event has reached it’s biggest wave of popularity yet this year.
He said there was: “Always going to be mixed feelings around large-scale events.”
I do think there’s some work to be done with Boardmasters on how we can interact with the businesses more.”
The Sun has contacted the festival organisers for a comment.
What is Boardmasters?
Boardmasters is an annual music and surf festival that takes place in Newquay, Cornwall.
The event has taken place since 1981 and started as a Surf competition.
It usually takes place over the span of five days and was cancelled in 2019 and 2020 due to poor weather and the Covid-19 pandemic respectively.
Owned and managed by Vision Nine Group, the event offers day passes and camping wristbands.
Notable headliners include Ed Sheeran, Snoop Dogg, Gorillaz, Florence + The Machine, Liam Gallagher, and The 1975.
Boardmasters finishes on Sunday, with delays expected to continue until 4pm on Monday.
