Electric Picnic likely to be a ‘mudfest’ due to heavy overnight rain

Festival goers are in for a wet and blustery weekend at Electric Picnic, as Met Éireann has warned heavy rain could see the annual arts and music event turn into a “mudfest”.

A record 70,000 people will descend on Stradbally, Co Laois this weekend as the festival returns for the first time in almost three years due to a Covid-induced hiatus.

Unfortunately for campers who are excited to a return to festivities, a weather advisory will be in place from 7pm on Friday until 7pm on Monday, with the national forecaster warning wet and windy weather “may cause disruption”.

Joanna Donnelly, a forecaster with Met Éireann, said it is going to be quite a muddy weekend for festival goers, though there is variability around timing.

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Friday will be largely okay once tents are put up early, she said, but there will be heavy overnight rain.

“There will be a period of dry weather for a while on Saturday afternoon, but Saturday night and into Sunday at the moment looks like it could be very wet,” she said.

“Sunday itself will be mostly dry, but Sunday overnight looks like it will have heavy rain, as will Monday when you’re trying to pack up the tent and get out of there.”

Ms Donnelly said current indications suggest attendees will be able to escape much of the heavy rain during the concert periods, “but the mud generated overnight could make it a bit of a mudfest”.

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Despite the wet and windy forecast, festival director Melvin Benn said he was delighted to see the return of the festival, adding it was a “long journey” to get there. The weekend’s festivities will return to pre-Covid normality, with no additional public health measures in place, he added.

“I’m struggling to remember how to spell Covid at the minute. It’s completely back to pre-Covid. We’re all free again, which is wonderful.”

This year’s festival has a strong Irish presence with Dermot Kennedy, Picture This, Denise Chaila, Fontaines DC and The Coronas all featuring in the line-up. International headliners include Megan Thee Stallion, Arctic Monkeys and Tame Impala.

Volunteers from the Samaritans will be in attendance over the weekend, with the charity’s festival director Tony Leech saying it is important people have a chance to talk about their feelings following the difficulties they may have had to cope with during the past two years.

“Events like Electric Picnic are designed to be enjoyable occasions. However, for some people it can be lonely and isolating to be in a festival atmosphere where they may be overwhelmed by feelings of loss and despair because of what may be happening or has happened in their lives,” he said.

In terms of travel, numerous coach companies are offering services to and from the festival, while there are also trains to Portlaoise train station, after which there will be buses to transport revellers to the site.

For those arriving by car, there are signs directing vehicles to the correct areas when near Stradbally and motorists are advised to follow these directions rather than the ones from a Satnav.