FAQ

Age Restrictions
Anyone who is under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. ID will be checked.

You will not be allowed to bring alcohol into the festival unless you are 18 or over. If you cannot prove your age you will be asked to surrender the alcohol at the entrance or be refused entry.

The bars operate a strict “Challenge 21” scheme. If you appear to be 21 or under you will be asked for ID to prove that you are 18 or over. You will only need to do this once as the bar staff will then give you a wristband that you can show for the remainder of the weekend. We recommend that you lock away your ID once you have done this.

Accepted ID is a passport, driving license (with photo) or the government’s proof of age scheme card – www.pass-scheme.org.uk

Bars
The bars will run on a cash basis. There is no token system.

Bohemia
Bohemia is the name of the entertainment area which opens at 5pm on Thursday 29th July and remains open 24 hours a day till 3am on Monday 2nd August. It hosts the Bohemia tent (with bands, rock karaoke, comedy and a silent disco) funfair rides, market stalls, cafes, a bar with seating, food stalls plus medical, welfare and lost property. Check the “Bohemia” section for information on more entertainment as we confirm it.

Crime
There are security and stewarding personnel throughout the site plus the police will be present in the campsites and carparks. However, there will always be some people who target festival sites and crowds and there are things you can do to keep your belongings safe:

• Book a locker. These are small so are perfect to leave car keys, wallets, phones, iPods etc. in. Take what money you will need for that day and lock the rest up. Lock all of it up before you go back to the campsite to sleep. They are open 24hrs a day.
• There were a number of people who suffered from pick-pocketing at the front of the stages at the last festival. Avoid this by not having your wallet / phone in your back pocket.
• Don’t leave items on view in your car. Thieves know that you probably won’t be going back to your car for a couple of days.
• Look out for people behaving suspiciously and either talk to a steward or call the crimestoppers number which will be displayed around the site.

Crowd Surfing
Those who persistently crowd surf will be ejected from the festival.

Deposit Scheme
A deposit scheme is running on both weekend with camping and weekend without camping tickets. You can also add extras such as lockers and parking. You only need to pay a deposit of £40 (non refundable) and then pay the balance by midnight on 31st May. The deposit scheme will close to new ticket buyers on 30th April.

Food
You will be able to bring food and drink in the campsite and small ammounts of  food and bottled water will be allowed into the arena .

Fires
No fires of any size are permitted.

Flags
Flags are permitted in the campsite and arena but are not to be raised at the front of the stage or if they block the view for other people. If you are asked to lower your flag, please do so.

Camera’s
SLR Cameras, those with detachable lenses are not allowed in the arena. Snapshot ones are fine.

Information
There is an information tent in Bohemia which can give you details on a wide variety of subjects from train timings to stage timings and where to go for lost property. The people who work in the information tent love to chat so just pop in for a conversation if you have a spare five minutes. You can also leave feedback about the festival with the info guys and it will get to the organising team.

Additionally there will be information stewards walking around the festival site. They will be carrying a sign to identify them. Feel free to stop them and ask them anything you like.

Lost Property
Lost property will be handled by the team in the Welfare tent in Bohemia. It will be open till 10am on Monday 2nd August. Some property gets found during the clear up in the week after the event so it is always worth checking a couple of weeks later to see if your item has turned up. Check back here for details of who to contact after the event is over.

Money
There will be ATM’s available in the main arena.

Opening Times

Early Entry Camping (includes Family Camping area) – from 3pm on Thursday 29th July
(Early Entry PLUS Weekend with Camping or Weekend with Family Camping ticket needed)

Accessible Campsite – 3pm on Thursday 29th July till 2pm Monday 2nd August
(Accessible Camping ticket needed)

Rock Royalty Campsite – 3pm on Thursday 29th July till 2pm Monday 2nd August
(Rock Royalty Camping package ticket needed)

Rock Royalty Backstage Area – 5pm on Thursday 29th July till 3am Monday 2nd August.
(Any Rock Royalty package ticket needed)

General Camping – midday on Friday 30th July till 2pm Monday 2nd August.
(Weekend with Camping ticket needed)

Bohemia / Arena – 5pm on Thursday 29th July till 3am Sunday 1st August.

Traders
To apply for a trading stand at Sonisphere complete the appropriate form within the “Contact” section.

Stage Running times

Saturn – between 11am and 9.30pm
Apollo – between midday and 11pm
Bohemia – between midday and 1am
*subject to change

The Saturn and Apollo outdoor stages run in a “flip-flop” style which means that whilst one stage has a band performing on it, the other is being set up for the next band. There will be a gap of approximately 10-15 minutes between the bands ending and starting to allow people to take a short break and move to the other stage.

Screens
There are screens at both outdoor stages.

Security
Security and stewarding will be provided throughout the entire festival site. They will all be in numbered uniform and will be SIA registered where appropriate. Supervisors and Managers are identifiable by their title being shown on the rear of their shirts. Any issues with a member of the security team should be brought to the attention of a supervisor or manager as soon as possible.

Shuttle Buses
See the “Getting there” section.

Stages
There are two outdoor stages; Apollo and Saturn. There is also the Bohemia stage which is in a big top. Details of other stages and entertainment will follow.

Travel
See “Getting There”.

Welfare
The Welfare tent is there to help you in a variety of ways. You can go there if you need a bit of quiet time or just a chat or you are having problems with anything and need some help. You can also leave messages for other festival goers and hand in or look for lost property.

Welfare is open from 5pm on Thursday 29th July till 10am on Monday 2nd August.