We’re less than two weeks from the long-awaited return of Boomtown Fair, and while the festival is officially sold out, it’s super-easy to pick up resale tickets safely, securely and instantly using the official fan-to-fan links on Boomtown Source.
Since ‘Boomtown Chapter 11, State Of Emergency’ took place in 2019, Boomtown has been reset and reborn with the storyline going back to ‘Chapter One: The Gathering‘ and a brand new layout which they’ll again begin to build on year-on-year
For the first time ever, Boomtown will use “every last inch” of the former ‘Downtown bowl’ to build their theatrical city, complete with immersive venues and huge stages. In previous years, the bowl has always contained some camping along with unused space hidden behind the main stages and between the city streets. This means while the main area of the festival will be much more compact, there’s still absolutely loads to see and you won’t have any massive uphill treks between the different main stages.
The brand new districts
The brand new Botanica district will be packed with new venues including The Vault, which is “is embedded into the centre of these untamed streets and is where you’ll hear the chorus of the city’s most soulful singers and rappers celebrating in sound and unity”, Obsidian, a collaboration by female and non-binary icons featuring queer parties and high-energy music from around the globe, and the Botanica Zoo, with animals and humans living in a utopian community after a former zoo was rewilded.
The official story states: “The state of emergency saw residents retreat to the city’s Seed Vault. On resurfacing from this underground bunker they find every surface teeming with life. The hyper fertile soils have birthed an oasis that has become a sanctuary for all those who wish to connect back to Mother Earth and her marvellous creations.”
“Botanica has been born. A colossal new district blossoms, a glorious utopia of flourishing nature, greenery and freedom. For those who tap into the driving force behind Botanica and its mysteriously interconnected residents there are new languages to speak, sigils to seek and modes of being to discover. Botanica is life in all its beauty, the future coming home to the earth.”
The official map, shown above and illustrated by @clraws, shows how a mix of spectacular new districts and old favourites will be arranged in the area formerly known as the ‘Downtown Bowl’.
Thursday morning parades to open the new arena
Plus the traditional opening and closing ceremonies
For those lucky enough to arrive on Wednesday night, you’ll get to be the first to explore Boomtown’s completely revamped city and all those brand-new districts. On Thursday morning, three simultaneous parades will leave each of Boomtown’s three main campsite areas to converge at the city gates for the grand opening of the former ‘Downtown bowl’ area, which now houses the entire city.
With the festival gates not opening until 12 noon on Thursday, only those who arrived on Wednesday will be able to attend the unveiling of those brand new districts featured above – along with returning favourites Area 404, Old Town, Copper County and Metropolis.
Naturally, the Thursday morning stuff is just the start, with Boomtown’s main opening ceremony taking place Friday morning and the closing ceremony as the last thing before midnight on Sunday night. Both of these have always been unmissable events, with the closing ceremony tying up the Fair’s storyline after it develops through the weekend, so after a two-year break and a reset to Chapter One they’re sure to be a sight to behold this time around.
The secret line-up being revealed
Boomtown have been keeping their line-up top secret this year, but we finally know when we’ll find out who’s playing: August 7th – i.e. the Sunday before the festival.
Lak Mitchell, co-founder of Boomtown festival previously said: “We’re not releasing a musical lineup this year for many reasons, mainly because we want the audience to want to come to the festival and explore it on the basis of the ethos, values and essence of what Boomtown stands for, rather than who is at the top of a poster.
“It allows the audience to look further afield into the breadth of the immersive offering that we have. We have an immersive storyline that swims through absolutely everything and ties everything together.
“Exploring the street venues is one of the ways that the audience can immerse themselves into the various districts and worlds that we have dreamt up over the years.
“We’ve got some of the most spectacular circus shows that we’ve ever had this year and we can’t wait!“
Just like in 2019, Woov is the official app for this year’s festival – and if you download it you can opt to be notified the minute the Boomtown 2022 line-up goes live.
Not having to walk as far (or up massive hills) between sets
Another massive perk of the new compact layout is that you won’t have to walk far between any of the main artists or districts. No more rushing up those mammoth steps to get from Downtown to Lion’s Den. No more massive treks to Sector 6 before dashing back Downtown for a secret DJ set.
With the three main campsites arranged around the new centralised city, the only time you’ll have to venture out of the bowl is to resupply at your chosen, adjacent campsite.
We think the steps will still be there for those who choose to camp in Hilltop Camping or who pay a visit to Tribe of Frog’s flashy forest, but you won’t have to climb them to move between the festival’s main stages.
Loads more vegetarian food than last time
For the first time, there will be a 50-50 split between vegetarian or vegan traders and those selling meat.
The list of over 120 different food stalls includes established festival favourites such as Bunnyman’s Bunnychow chilli-filled bread, the vegan-friendly Floating Lotus cafe, VFC‘s vegan fried chick*n and Vegan Vice, who use their bespoke signature soy patties to serve up some of the best burgers I’ve tried in years.
Ahead of the previous Boomtown Fair in 2019, there were conversations about the festival potentially becoming entirely meat-free at some point in the future. We’re not aware of any plans to bring this in, but we do know this year’s sustainability rules around food include all tea, coffee, sugar and bananas being Fairtrade certified and all fish to be sustainable and from the Marine Conservation Society’s ‘Fish to Eat’ list.
As in previous years, there’s a complete ban on single-use plastic being supplied on site, so all plates, cutlery and other serveware must be fully compostable. Where possible, all fruit and veg should be local and seasonal, while meat and dairy products should be British, free-range, organic and ideally locally sourced.
Image credits:
First: Scott Salt
Parades: Jody Hartley
Line-up: Tom Martin
Steps: TheFestivals
Disclosures: TheFestivals is funded through advertising and sometimes earns a commission on purchases made through links on this website, including in this article: None
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