Bestival 2011

HeHello and welcome to the wonderful world of ‘Sunday Best presents Bestival’! On this page we aim to give you a short(ish) but very sweet summary of all things Bestival. For further detailed info, use the index below to guide you around the site… and don’t forget to use the scroll bars (on the actual website) to view the full story if its a long’un!


Bestival is an award winning 3 day boutique music festival set at Robin Hill - a beautiful leafy country park (a veritable Garden of Eden!) near Downend and Newport in the heart of the Isle of Wight.

The wonderful world of Bestival was born out of ten fun years of pioneering music events and record releases from Rob da Bank’s Sunday Best empire. The BBC Radio 1 leftfield DJ had a dream to one day create his vision of how the modern day festival should be. Along with Creative Director and wife Josie da Bank and co founders / partners John and Ziggy from Get Involved that dream is now fulfilled. On a mission to change the face of independent festival culture, the fearless foursome are bringing some magic to the shores of the Solent and spreading the love worldwide.

It’s Rob and Josie da Bank’s creative vision that sets Bestival apart. Whilst the massive musical brain of Rob ensures the Bestival line-up is the most eclectic you’ll ever experience, it’s Josie’s creative wand that casts its magic over Bestival land. From the most original boutique campsite experience, to the Bollywood Cocktail Bar, fancy dress en mass and even a Hidden Disco, it’s this uniqueness that makes Bestival a wondrous world of discovery and adventure that will inspire peace, love and dancing not only in September but all year round…

The first Bestival, in September 2004, was headlined by Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim, Zero 7, The Bees, Mylo and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and was a ground-breaking success.

Bestival 2005 meanwhile saw Royksopp, The Magic Numbers, Super Furry Animals, 2manydjs, The Go! Team and Soulwax take to the stage (amongst many others!). It also set the World Record for the Biggest Fancy Dress Party (10,000 people dressed as Cowboys & Indians!) and was voted (by the festival-going public) the Best (Medium-sized) Festival and the Most Innovative Festival at the 2005 UK Festival Awards. Many thanks to those who voted for us!

Bestival 2006 was headlined by Scissor Sisters, Gogol Bordello, Pet Shop Boys and a cast of thousands… you lot… and once again saw us coming up trumps by winning the Best Medium Sized Festival category at the 2006 UK Festival Awards.

Bestival 2007 was headlined by The Chemical Brothers, Beastie Boys and Primal Scream and we once again won Best Medium Sized Festival. Thank you for voting for us once again!

Camping - Most people who come to Bestival camp and it really is the best way to experience the festival. We do recognize though that some people want a bit more comfort than that… so you can hire a Tipi, Yurt or PodPad… and then kick back in the comforts these afford. You can also bring you own Campervan to Bestival - but you will need to buy a campervan ticket first! For those that want to stay in a B&B or hotel, we recommend you head over to www.islandbreaks.co.uk to find yourself accommodation (look for places in or near Newport, Ryde or Cowes).

Travel – the Isle of Wight is much nearer than most people think! For example, door to door from central London can be as little as 2 hours (inc the ferry crossing). Wightlink and Red Funnel operate frequent ferry services from Portsmouth and Southampton respectively and both companies also sell Bestival tickets. Head over to the Practical Info section of this website for further info on travel, including information about train services to and from Portsmouth/Southampton, Shuttle Bus services from the ferry ports to the festival site and general car travel info.

Children – Bestival is very kid-friendly. In fact, they’ll love it! We also have a Breastival baby temple area for new mothers! You will find further info on this in the What Else section of this site

So, have a good look around http://www.bestival.net for lots more info… if you still can’t find what you are after please email us at hello@bestival.net

lots of love

x The Bestival Team