I realised the other day, that the first time we went to the festy, we didnt know what the arena was, where to get these armband thingys, or anything else for that manner. I thought I should make a guide, with a rough, inaccurate map, to show how it all works. This is pretty much how it work however what I tell you could have changed this year as they are forever making minor changes. Also, I am speaking from a weekend campers point of view, as I have never been to the festival on a day ticket basis.

First of all, there are three parts to the festival site.

There are the campsites, there is the entrance to the arena, and there is the arena.

In the campsites you do all the stuff you'd imagine you'd do at a festival. You drink, you have parties, you socialise, you sleep, eat and smoke there. Now, this area is patrolled through the day by on the whole friendly security staff. The security staff used to stay within the safe confines of their towers after dark, but now they patrol all night and make sure no one is lighting bonfires (although small campfires are allowed). Drinking here is perfectly fine and legal, so dont hide the beer everytime you see a flouro jacket, but if you are seen with copius amounts of gange you might get apprehended.

The entrance to the arena really begins with the walk down there. You will know you are at the entrance to the arena when you go past the cashpoint, shower blocks, clothes stands and other general stuff. You will come to a metal fenced area with a big banner above it saying ARENA ENTRANCE. This is the place where you have to put out your joints and ditch your beers, because when you go through the gate you are not allowed anything. You will see a big barrier, with security guards along it. You now form orderly queues, and are searched by a security guard as you enter the arena. You cannot take any drinks in to the arena, and obviously no illegal substances are allowed in, but you can take in food for personal consumption, which is something I only realized last year when i read the small print. I will say that the searches are generally less stringent during the day than in the evening. When you get through these gates you are in the arena.

The arena is where all the action goes down. I would suggest you go have a walk around here on Thursday (when it opens at around 6) to get yourself acquainted with the surroundings. You can also see the crew building the huge main stage, thats nice to watch if its a sunny evening. In the arena are all the stages where you'll see the bands/comedians, the funfair, everything you will be paying your money for.

As mentioned above, if its past say 6pm, the arena will probably be open and you can go look at the crew putting up the humongous main stage, check out some vids in the dance tent, check out the unsigned stage which usually has a few bands on or just soak up all the atmosphere in the arena. You cant miss it, but heres a final pic