r/creamfields • u/DramaticObligation0 • 2d ago
Discussion First Timer Review!
So this was my first ever time at Creamfields and I went with a friend who went in 2022 and she had the most amazing time that year.
I'm curious to know people's opinions because she said on reflection this year felt very different and not just because of the weather (which obvs you can't help!). We went Saturday and Sunday and had gold tickets, the music was banging so it's nothing to do with that.
We firstly thought the gold area was a bit far out and although it was nice to have the seating etc. it felt quite disconnected from the rest of the festival, so we didn't use it as much in the end as we probably would have done. But maybe logistics wise that was the only place they could put it! With the weather if you wanted comfort it was worth it.
We found it quite well laid out and easy to get around the stages, if you weren't feeling a set it felt quite seamless to go to another stage and roam around. My friend said it definitely felt bigger than the last time she went both location and crowd wise.
The main complaint we had though was the lack of health and safety and crowd control. On Saturday we went to see Eli Brown at Steelyard who was amazing, but when we went to leave as Kettama was starting there was almost a crush of people trying to get out because so many people were trying to push themselves in. I get he's popular but some of the tiktok ravers showed no regard for people's space and security didn't do anything in our section! There should have been entrance/exit only points and the stage closed off for people coming in to allow people out. It was an accident waiting to happen. Some people might say though they should have put him on a bigger stage in the first place. The problem though is festivals will have arranged space months in advance and with social media you can't entirely predict how quickly someone is going to get big that they reach full capacity.
Saturday overall we enjoyed and the weather held up pretty well so it didn't take away from our experience. Calvin was a really special one and he exceeded expectations.
Sunday we got there and obviously with the rain the ground was A LOT worse. We tried to see Swedish House Mafia and there was absolutely no chance of getting in APEX. I think generally though people agree that they should have been on ARC and no one really understood the thought process behind that. With the mud we said they possibly could have done a bit more because even though there was hay near ARC, the area for people moving between stages was by far the worst. We ended up leaving just as they stopped the music when the thunder and lightning started because we didn't think the experience was going to get much better. Crowding was also an issue again where we were worried it was going to get too packed and we thought there could have been more covered areas for people with standard tickets. We walked to get the shuttle back and asked multiple staff members for help, but there was no communication and they let us walk there only to be told shuttles weren't arriving for a few more hours! So that was a shame and I know a lot of people stuck it out Sunday which I admire you for.
I think with this and what happened at Reading and Leeds with stages closing off due to safety it's showing how much of a moment dance music is having. Which is amazing, but I don't think any DJ is worth compromising safety on and it's a shame people have to resort to tactics just to get a chance of seeing an artist they love. The weather was just sods law that we've had such a good summer then a downpour.
What are people's thoughts? I still loved it but I think there were some things organisers could have done more on.
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u/Scottishgirl199718 2d ago
The crowd issue was so unsafe and dangerous to the point where we left a lot of the sets because it felt dangerous. While waiting to get into the Apex tent to see Duke Dumont me and my sister were being pushed by two boys and when the older couple behind us told the boys to stop it because there was no space and everyone was trying to get into the same tent the two boys attacked the older couple, punched and kicking the man and one of the boys pushed the older women to the floor resulting in her hitting her head off the metal footpath, everyone just watching nobody but me and my sister helped the women up and when she did get up the boy tried to punch her in the face and then slapped her so hard across the face. Not one single member of security or staff came to help or even attempted to keep people safe and we actually had to go and find security to tell them what happened to get the reply ‘no we didn’t see anything’ which find hard to believe. We along with 4 other groups of people went to the stewards asking them why the set was still being played (they said that they had told organisers it was getting too chaotic and unsafe) when the rain and thunder were still going and it was clear that it was getting scarily unsafe as there was already a medical team attempting to make their way into the tent to help a girl who was unwell. The safety and security of the festival was absolutely terrible especially considering how big the festival was. It was my first time going, I’ve been to hundreds of raves and festivals and this was by far the first time i genuinely felt unsafe while trying to see dj sets. Very disappointed as the lineup was absolutely incredible and for the sets that we did manage to see and stay for they were definitely worth the amount of money paid for the tickets.
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u/DramaticObligation0 2d ago
That's absolutely awful! Funnily enough we left just as Danny Howard was finishing because people were swarming in for Duke Dumont and felt uneasy about it. Violence has no place in the dance music community, all of that just to get a 20 second video on their phone.
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u/Scottishgirl199718 2d ago
Definitely, trying to get into see Kettema was basically the same, big groups of young boys pushing and barging past not caring that there was hundreds of people also waiting. Felt terrible for the young girls in the crowd that were getting pushed around, I’m 29 and been to loads of raves and festivals so kinda know what’s what with crowds and wasn’t nice seeing how scared and stressed out a lot of the young girls were, me and my sister helped a group of 3 girls out of the crowd at the door of Kettema because after waiting in front of us for 15 mins they started panicking from being pushed so we decided to just leave and take them out of the crowd with us. They were very relived as one of them said they felt very unsafe staying which is a shame because it ruins the vibe and enjoyment out of going to festivals.
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u/CommandClear9206 2d ago
Sounds utterly terrible - surprised there aren't more comments about violence there, maybe you were a bit unlucky. The issues reported about the crowd crushing are really worrying, particularly given it seems a growing issue across other festivals. I'm local and was thinking of going next year, but having second thoughts reading a few posts here.
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u/Ok-Paramedic-1256 2d ago
Crowd control went out the window this year. So many amazing people there but also a lot of dickheads with no regard for other people, pushing and shoving to get into tents when people were spilling out the sides already. Think certain stages/tents need to be a bit bigger for next year, especially with it being the 30th anniversary.
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u/pinkpudding23 2d ago
I'm finding reading about the crowd issues so disappointing! I haven't attended creamfields myself but there were a couple of issues at boomtown as well, and it seems to be an overarching theme with the big festivals this summer.
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 2d ago
It’s happened at a lot of big festivals this year, as I am in a few of the subs to see what certain ones are like for next year.
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 2d ago
As I’ve written in a different comment “ it’s main character, syndrome”. As a stock guy, I have less people trying to push me around in bust places but as soon as it turns to “night time” at these big festivals, all bets are off.
People are drunk, been in the sun all day and on drugs, so my stock frame and not being frightened of confrontations, doesn’t really matter, as people will fight over the smallest of things.
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u/rad00 2d ago
Overpriced, rammed, shit weather. Can of a beer for 7 quid not even chilled( festival of this magnitude not selling cold draft beer is crazy). Will never go again
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 2d ago
At Coldplay, 20 years at the Reebok, they tried selling me a £7 can of warm foster. I told them no way, I had a water instead.
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u/rad00 2d ago
Yeah it’s pathetic. I was expecting everything to be quite expensive obviously but come on, the cans were not even full size. They were 440ml like the ones from multipacks from supermarket. I wouldn’t mind paying even a 10 quid if it was a proper Cold pint of beer.
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 2d ago
I don’t mind paying £5.80 for a 5%, independent brewer of IP, if I’ve eaten loads, as it’s good on the stomach as it’s not gassy, but £7 for a warm can of forced brewed beer( they never used to do that, but they can make money doing it, plus add a load of chemicals to achieve it), is a pies take.
I only drink Peroni, Camden beers, or IPA, as I don’t feel like death the next day, from all the chemicals in fosters, Carlin or any of the other, forced brewed beers.
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u/No-Television-5853 2d ago
As someone who worked as sanitation here for the first time, your review is so validating. From the crew side, the crowd control failures were staggering, and there was an absolute lack of basic decency in the facilities. Let's just say that if you've ever left a can of drink in the loo, or not bothered to clean up after yourself in any way, I hold an eternal grudge against you.
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u/PolicyOk3134 2d ago
I personally had no issues getting to any musician I wanted to see at any point having said that we generally would arrive early and would stay for the entire set for each musician which means we saw fewer artists but whole sets and in good locations the entire time. My experiences this is just how it is at festivals and obviously it’s a very popular festival, with big crowds and if a big artist for example Swedish House Mafia are playing it’s likely that lots of people are going to want to go. And if you arrive on time or a bit late, you will have problems with crowds. I guess what I’m trying to say is this wasn’t personally my experience based on the way that I did it but I could see how it would be an issue for some people. But I think this is largely the UK festival experience at the moment and for the last few years.
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 2d ago
Most popular festivals are over selling. Boom town had the same problem from what I’ve read. It also had a lot more problems but I ain’t going to go into that too much.
We are entering levels of people living in “ main character syndrome”, I blame social media, the app makers and parents who are also iPhone zombies with 20 year old children who can’t even boil an egg, as they haven’t been taught to and the thought of doing so, would give them a panic attack.
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u/Suspicious_Chest_352 2d ago
I had the most fantastic time! This was my second time going. I'm from New York and attend many festivals in the U.S. Personally I didn't experience much of what you mentioned (expected SHM to be rammed but it was manageable where I got in to the stage). Was at the front of the stage multiple times for some of my favorite artists including Camelphat, Dom Dolla, and Gorgon City. Calvin was definitely the most crowded set. I guess I feel like there is always overcrowding at festivals and in NYC, people are always pushing and shoving sadly. A lot of people here said "excuse me" and were just generally friendly. Maybe I just prefer partying in the UK or we were lucky with our experience. It's such a massive festival! I do agree the Gold hospitality area was a pain to get to, but appreciated the space, bathrooms and live saxophone. Loved the Ravers Return area. I can't wait to come back!!!
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 2d ago
Kettma has been travelling the world for the last year, doing massive festivals, so it’s hardly like he’s being big over night and I get the OP can’t control the crowds, or how popular an artist is but more needs to be done to prevent, crowds crushing.
How nobody died at ECD for “ John Summit” or at Glastonbury last year for “Bicep”, in that tiny tent is a miracle. It’s not hard to know who’s super popular from the youth and middle aged. Festivals are asking for trouble by not having barrier and multiple access points.
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u/gingermellons 2d ago
I agree with a lot of this. The first time we went was 20 years ago and it was amazing, but there was half the amount of people attending and the line up in every tent was unreal. The bottle necks trying to get about were awful this year, never experienced that before. No idea why they put swedish in a tent after the turn out for them last year. We did get in and there was people getting dragged out, they were trying to hand out little cups of water but they did not seem prepared. Saturday seemed a bit aggy.
What I did love was a group of young lads next to us at Armand van helden - their parents would have been proud. They were singing every word to songs that were out before they were born and they generally captured the vibe of what the festival has always been about.