What Makes an Unforgettable Music Festival

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Source: Flickr

It was July 2009. My first (but hopefully not last) massive music festival. We had two tents for 6 people, and had shopped enough to feed and drink 50 others. I arrived later than the rest, I came straight from having my interview in Switzerland for my current job. I stood at the entry of the festival in a silk dress and heels, hoping that one of my friends could make his way out and hand me over a more suitable outfit. After about 30 minutes, my friend arrived without any kind of attire. Oh, well. Who needs clothes anyway. 

We left my business stuff in the car and I walked into the crowds wearing his T-Shirt - hey, it was long enough to be a dress! 

The next four days were wild. I had never lived in such bad conditions, and I'm seriously not sure if I'd do it again. But it surely brought some moments that I will never forget. 

Stay up until dawn

On the first night, I stayed up until the sun rose. Doing what? Well, dancing to techno music in an alternative tent, faking interviews to anyone around and trading beer for a portable BBQ.

Survive a fire and a hurricane (all on the same day)

Ok, you got me. It wasn't really a hurricane. But on the second day of the festival, the wind started to pick up and this caused something like the end of the world. One of the stages fell apart, all concerts were cancelled for the rest of the evening, the camping place was a big mess with people having lost their tents, metal structures having fallen apart and toilets turned over. To make things even worse, a fire started near the camping and was quickly approaching us. But hey, we survived the night! We slept in the cars and our tents stayed in its place because of the 50 beers we had stored inside. Clever, I know. 

Drink hot beer

It was a great idea to store the beers and the food in our tent. But we should have thought about bringing along a cooler. Benicassim is located on the spanish mediterranean coast side, where temperatures in July usually range 35ºC - 42ºC, already starting early in the morning. A tent amplifies this heat even more - which is why I lived in a bikini to run to the cold showers every morning at 7:00am and go back to lie on the towel, and also is why our beers tasted like hot tea with bubbles. Cheers!

Fall asleep in a rock concert

I like The Killers. I had already seen them live in Germany a couple of years back. But when it was time for their show, on the last evening, I fell asleep while standing in the crowds. I'm not sure how long I slept. I just know that Jenny was a friend of mine woke me up and brought me back to life!

Join hundreds of people dancing a waltz

After surviving The Killers and Rinôcérôse (without needing another nap), while the technicians were removing the equipment from the Green Stage, a waltz started to play and hundreds of people began to dance to its tunes (me included, of course). It was definitely my favorite part of the whole festival. 

Have you ever been to a festival? What made it unforgettable?

Want to see more pictures of Festival Internacional de Benicassim? Check out their Flickr Group!