Download: 'We've got tickets to a post-Covid festival'

It is usually one of the first big festivals of summer. But Download has twice been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, it has now been resurrected as a government Covid pilot event - and thousands of music fans could not be happier. BBC News meets some of them.

With a crowd of just 10,000, instead of the usual 110,000, and 40 acts instead of 70, this year's Download will be a pared-back affair - but by no means a downbeat one.

Fans initially thought they had missed out on the 2021 festival, which was due to run earlier in June.

So the chance to rock out on the Leicestershire site, in Castle Donington, over three days from Friday without having to wear a mask or socially distance came as a welcome surprise.

The UK-based line-up includes Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Enter Shikari and Bullet For My Valentine.

Organisers say ticketholders will be able to mosh, hug and forget the troubles of the last 15 months, provided they produce a negative Covid test in advance.

John Morris from Clifton, Nottingham, is a regular at summer festivals.

He said: "I jumped at the opportunity to jump around in a field with a load of other people and pretend the world is OK."

The 28-year-old is going to Download with four friends and said it will be the first major event he has attended since the pandemic began.

"I hope when the first band comes on, all the worries will go away and you can just enjoy the moment," he said.

"How amazing will it be to be one of the first ones at a festival in the UK and helping live music to come back?

"I have missed it. Being in a crowd with people enjoying a band will be fantastic."

Brandon Joyce has been waiting for this moment since he bought his tickets to Download in 2019.

Those tickets have been rolled over to 2022 but he said he was keen to attend as soon as he heard of the test event.

"It feels really good to be going," said the 25-year-old supermarket warehouse manager from Hinckley, Leicestershire.

"Being a key worker, I have not had any relief time over the last 12 months.

"There's been no let-off.

"It feels good to know I can relax and feel like the world is getting back to normal again.

"To go from where we are at now to seeing 10,000 people is a big jump."

The Download regular said the reunion with friends he has made over the years will be like a "family meeting".

"It will be nice to see them in the flesh again, have a drink with them again and not have to worry about how far away we should be from each other or wearing a mask," he said.

"A lot of people have [asked if] it is dangerous going and if we are spreading Covid.

"But the government wants us to do this.

"It is a way to help us return to our normal lives again.

"We have all really come together as a community in the last year to help stop the spread of the virus and now we are coming together in a different way to enjoy this moment."

Nurse Katy-Ann Webb, 46, from Blackpool, said she had seen first-hand the impact of Covid-19 but she felt confident the event's organisers had taken necessary precautions.

"I love loud music and I normally go to many concerts and gigs locally and nationally every year, so we have really missed live music," she said.

"I'm a hugger and we haven't been able to hug friends, but as soon as you pass through those gates to Download you can do all that, like you always do, so that will be exciting.

"It will still feel quite unbelievable, especially when you do the job that I do.

"I have been very careful and stringent with Covid guidelines.

"Not having to wear a mask and trying a little bit to forget about the pandemic and have a weekend of normality will be amazing."

Liam Walton, 27, an event promoter from Sheffield, expects to be "overwhelmed" as the first band steps out on the stage.

"Music is my biggest passion. It is why I do the job that I do," he said.

"It is a really big thing in my life so it has been such a shame to not have experienced it in the same way we normally would.

"I have been going to festivals since I was quite young and the last year has been awful, to be quite honest."

He said it would feel "really strange" to see restrictions completely forgotten.

"It will be a big shock," he said.

"I think it will start off with things feeling very strange but as soon as that first band comes on and the crowd builds up around you, I think it will be overwhelming happiness.

"Everyone will just be overjoyed we are getting that taste of normality again.

"I don't think I have been as excited about anything since March 2020.

"You almost feel like you took it for granted before, being able to see live music, and you just want to cherish every moment."

Download got the go-ahead on 26 May following a number of smaller-scale test events.

Tickets sold out within a week.

Download booker Andy Copping said the festival's organisers were "honoured to play a vital part in the return of live music to the UK".

"With moshing back on the cards, this is going to be a true celebration of festival spirit and something special to be a part of," he added.

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