Download Festival receives traffic warnings amid new plans to avoid more chaos

A warning has been issued for motorists taking part in next week’s Download Festival. Organizers hope to reduce congestion after last year’s rock event was marred by traffic chaos.

The warning came from Highways National as thousands of rock fans are expected to descend on Castle Donington next week for the annual Download Festival. This year’s event runs from Friday 14th June to Sunday 16th June, with the festival car park opening at midday on Wednesday 12th June.

Ticket holders have been urged to ignore sat navs for the festival and instead follow event signage to Donington Park. This is in a bid to avoid last year’s traffic chaos for the festival, which saw queues of up to 15 hours in what was labeled “unprecedented congestion”.

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Investigations into the chaos, which saw long queues on the M1, A42, A453 and A50, eventually found Download Festival did not breach license conditions for traffic or noise. However, Live Nation, the festival’s organizers, said its plans had been revised for this year in an attempt to avoid similar problems.

For 2024, Download Festival ticket holders are warned not to assume that previous entry and access points are still in use this year. National Highways says extra traffic officers will be deployed to ensure traffic flows smoothly throughout the weekend.

As part of this year’s new measure, more parking lots have been introduced with an increased number of access gates to limit queues. People will also be able to scan a QR code on parking permits for live updates on parking availability and capacity.

Changes have also been made to the Download pick up and drop off points. The two will not be in the same area as part of an effort to reduce congestion.

Around 75,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival, with headline acts including Queens of the Stone Age, Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold. National Highways says that even with new measures in place, the M1, A42, A453, A50 and A38 are expected to see “significant increases” in traffic.

Highways officials say traffic will be particularly bad on Wednesday (June 12) and Thursday (June 13) as festival-goers arrive. Traffic is also expected to be bad when rock fans leave on Sunday (June 16) and Monday (June 17).

A warning is also in place for those catching flights at nearby East Midlands Airport. Last year, many were caught in long queues, with national highways warning all travelers this year to have enough time to catch their plane. They also urged people to consider different routes.

Electronic boards warning of potential delays will be in place over the next week. You can find more information on the National Highways website.

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