Great news! In the last few days, the Premises Licence for our wonderful new Festival site has been approved by Winchester City Council. We now have 28 acres of flat and well-drained grassland for our arena with much better pedestrian and vehicle access than ever before. No more long walks from campsites to arena. No more slippery slopes to negotiate. And hopefully no more mud! Our new arena field is so much better in every way. These photos taken last week show how lovely our new arena field is.
There’s enough space on our new field for our new arena plus campervan & motorhome camping, accessible camping, camping with electric hook-ups, dog-friendly camping, and Festival glamping. If you fancy our luxury glamping camping, the ‘Camel Camp’ tents will be sited right alongside our arena. Prices include Backstage VIP tickets for the weekend. Click here for details.
Walking distances between campsites and arena are greatly reduced and are now across flat ground. While tented camping will remain just across the road on the beautiful, grassed fields at Westlands Farm we’ll have a new pedestrian route to also reduce walking distances between tented camping and the arena. With our new site there really are improvements for whatever accommodation you’ll be using.
We are so looking forward to christening our new home with The Men They Couldn’t Hang headlining our opening night on Thursday 1st August as part of their 40th anniversary tour.
We’ll have great music across our weekend including some of Scotland’s top Celtic bands such as Manran, Rura, Saltfishforty, and Skipinnish.
Two of these Celtic bands will be appearing on our “Kilt Sunday” along with the amazing Scottish fiddle player Ryan Young. However to close our 2024 event, the great American vocalist and jazz musician Curtis Stigers will be making his Wickham Festival debut.
Now we urgently need YOUR support!
If you’re on the mailing lists for other festivals like Cropredy and Towersey you’ll have seen their pleas for people to buy tickets now. Towersey, sadly, is one of over 40 festivals to announce they won’t be staged again next year, this after 60 years of Towersey festivals. Many other festivals have already cancelled this year due to ever-rising costs. Wickham is not immune from the problems facing all independent festivals. Our costs have risen by over 40 per cent since Covid. We are proud of our independence, proud of the fact we’re not a ‘corporate’ festival, proud that we’re not dependent on the support of big business sponsors. We answer to you! We run Wickham on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis where every penny is spent on giving you the best festival experience possible but if Wickham is to survive past this summer and not go the same way as Towersey and many other festivals we urgently need you to support us by buying tickets NOW (if you haven’t already done so).
We know last year’s rain and mud plus the long walk from campsites to arena have dissuaded some people from returning but if you’re among them please give us another go and see just how lovely our new arena field is compared to the old. We’ve ‘frozen’ ticket prices at the same level as last year despite ever-increasing costs. You can still save £30 on every 4-day weekend season ticket if you buy in the next few days and remember, we don’t add booking fees at Wickham and all day parking is free.
In addition to four live music stages we’ll have all your usual favourites including storytelling, silent disco, dance displays, workshops, yoga, late night comedy and some exciting new entertainment. We’re also delighted that a Wickham favourite, The Magic Teapot, will be back this summer offering a relaxed setting for informal music sessions plus a great cuppa tea from a proper teapot!
We’re determined to make this year’s Wickham Festival one of our best. Do please support us and buy tickets if you haven’t already done so. We look forward to seeing you on our lovely new Festival field in early August.
With best wishes,
The Wickham Festival Team
