Boomtown’s long-awaited return gets underway today and for the first time ever, the festival is completely cashless! To buy almost anything on-site, like food, drinks and merch, you’ll need to add credit to your wristband, which you can do using the link below.
The same wristband you normally wear for entry will contain a secure chip which can be scanned by bars and vendors to take payments. There will be top-up booths all over the festival where you can use your bank card to top up in person, and some of these will also take cash. If you prefer, you can just use these all weekend and don’t need to register online.
That said, we’ve got a few good reasons why you should spend two minutes setting up your cashless account online:
- You’ll get an automatic refund after the festival – if you don’t register you’ll have to go online to claim your refund after the event anyway
- You can turn on automatic top-ups – when your balance drops below £20 your wristband will take another £50 from your card automatically, then refund the change automatically after the festival
- You’ll never have to queue to top – you can top up manually from your phone, and if your mobile data doesn’t work very well at Boomtown (hello Vodafone and Three customers!) there should be wifi available near the top-up booths, so you can still skip the queue
- You can check your balance and recent transactions yourself – just like your regular online banking, so if you’re worried about being accidentally double-charged you can check for yourself
- Your balance is safe if you lose your wristband – if you’ve registered online they can transfer your balance to a new wristband, but if you haven’t, it’s the same as losing the cash – gone forever!
You can find out pretty much everything else you could want to know about the system in the FAQ on the official website.
How to register and top-up online
Method one: The Woov app
This is the fastest method as the app automatically sets up your cashfree account using your Facebook account and email address – you won’t need to set up a password. If you later want to top up online without using the app (method two), you’ll need to request a ‘forgot your password?‘ email so you can set one before you log in.
- If you haven’t already, install the official Woov for Boomtown app. Download it here for Android and here for iPhone. Login with your Facebook account.
- Hit the ‘cashfree top up’ button on the main page for Boomtown
- You’ll be asked if you’ve got your wristband yet or just your ticket
- Enter your ticket barcode number or, if you’ve already got into the festival, the code from your wristband (if it doesn’t work with dashes, try again without, and vice versa)
- Choose a top-up amount, enter your card details and remember to save your card details so it’s faster next time
- [Optional] Turn on auto top up
The next time you hit the cash free top-up button from the Woov app, you’ll be taken to your account dashboard where you can check your balance, view recent transactions or top-up again.
For more information, visit the cash-free page on the official Boomtown website, the official how-to guide and the official FAQ.
Method two: Use this link
If you’ve already done the Woov method you might need to enter your Facebook email then reset your password to login this way.
- Click here to access the WeezEvent Boomtown Cashfree system (you can bookmark it or save it to your home screen)
- Enter your email address, then fill out the rest of the information and set a password
- You’ll be asked if you’ve got your wristband yet or just your ticket
- Enter your ticket barcode number or, if you’ve already got into the festival, the code from your wristband (if it doesn’t work with dashes, try again without, and vice versa)
- Choose a top-up amount, enter your card details and remember to save your card details so it’s faster next time
- [Optional] Turn on auto top up
The next time you click the link above, you’ll be taken to your account dashboard where you can check your balance, view recent transactions or top up again.
For more information, visit the cash-free page on the official Boomtown website, the official how-to guide and the official FAQ.
UPDATE: The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat at Boomtown
After keeping the line-up under wraps throughout the build-up to the festival, Boomtown organisers revealed the full line-up at 5pm on Sunday. Unlike in previous years, they’ve kept the line-up secret to encourage people to come for the festival itself rather than specific big-name acts.
Friday’s line-up on the Grand Central stage includes two 2022 Mercury Prize nominees; Kojey Radical and Nova Twins. Previous Mercury Prize nominee Kae Tempest will take to the stage later on Friday, before Saturday’s line-up features another 2022 nominee Self Esteem. Grand Central closes on Sunday with sets from Kool & The Gang followed by Four Tet – before the official closing ceremony just before midnight.
The opening and closing ceremonies will take place simultaneously across Grand Central and Origin. And right after Friday’s opening ceremony, Origin will kick off with hour-long sets from David Rodigan and Shy Fx Ft. Stamina MC. Saturday’s Origin line-up includes Noisia Ft. 2SHY MC along with A.M.C & Phantom and Kyrist.
Over at Engine House, you can look forward to Dutty Moonshine Big Band followed by Slamboree on Friday night. Saturday’s line-up includes Electric Swing Circus and Henge and Sunday’s features Oh My God! It’s The Church and Dub Pistols. Plus, Engine House will host Beans on Toast‘s traditional Sunday afternoon set at its usual time of 3pm.
The full line-up, featuring hundreds of artists over dozens of stages, can now be viewed in the official Woov app for Boomtown. The app also features the official map, announcements and chat with other attendees and can be downloaded here for iPhone and here for Android.
Alternatively, you can scroll through a list of main stage artists on the Boomtown website – but you’ll still need the Woov app to find out where and when they’ll be playing.
Despite being well received by the majority, Boomtown organisers responded to a small number of people unhappy with the line-up on Monday morning. They said: “For those people who were expecting bigger headline artists, we really need to say this; when we relaunched chapter one and the new version of Boomtown 2 years ago, we made it very clear that we did not want to dedicate such a large portion of the budget to three acts that sit on top of a poster. Instead, we wanted to spread it across all areas that make boomtown unique, that was always our ethos, and we wanted to return to that.
“When we announced this change we offered full refunds to people or a % of the ticket money back to support the change, 40,000 of you received a partial refund due to this shift in our offering.
“Since that time, we have experienced challenge after challenge with significant increases in general costs, something which has massively affected all festivals. A show as complex as Boomtown takes a full six weeks to build, plus a 50-strong team at HQ who work towards the event all year round – we are a city like no other after all. The pressure is almost unmanageable but this incredible team are working round the clock to get things ready for you.”
“Going forward we are clear on who we are, and where we are planning to go in the future. We put on one of the most ambitious parties on earth, but retain our raw unbounded creativity and space of freedom as best as we can.
“In three days we welcome you to dance with us once again.”
A weather update revealed on Friday last week suggests peak daytime temperatures at Boomtown Fair could begin at 33-34°C on Wednesday before rising to a scorching 38°C by Sunday. There’s still plenty of time for the forecast to change and it’s still thought to be unlikely we’ll reach the high 30s, but it’s still certain to be hot, so come prepared and stay hydrated.
Earlier this month, Boomtown organisers revealed the first official map for 2022, ahead of the festival’s long-awaited return next month, giving us our first look at the new layout. Illustrated by @clraws, the map shows how a mix of spectacular new districts and old favourites will be arranged in the area formerly known as the ‘Downtown Bowl’.
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