Electric Picnic is back after a two-year hiatus caused by Covid-19. What began in 2004 as a boutique festival, with a capacity of 10,000, will this year accommodate some 70,000 people. The first of them arrive at the Stradbally estate, in Co Laois, on Thursday evening for a long weekend of music and other arts headlined by Dermot Kennedy, Tame Impala and Arctic Monkeys, and also featuring Megan Thee Stallion, Anne-Marie, Snow Patrol and Picture This, among others.
Who else is playing?
You can see the full line-up and stage times for all the top areas here.
When does it all start and finish?
Holders of early-entry and campervan tickets can arrive between 4pm and midnight on Thursday. (There will be late-night entertainment in the woodland areas from 6pm until midnight.) For everybody else the gates open at 9am on Friday. Campsites close at 1pm on Monday, September 5th.
Read more on this year’s Electric Picnic
- Stage times for all the top areas
- Weather: Electric Picnic likely to be a ‘mudfest’ due to heavy overnight rain
- Festival hacks: How to save battery, choose a campsite, get some sleep
- 10 under the radar acts to see
- Drug-monitoring pilot programme at Electric Picnic will reduce harm, says HSE
What’s the camping like?
The festival has a good half-dozen or so campsites, from the boutique to the basic. So you can glamp it up — you can see some of the options here — or descend to what can sometimes seem, to older festivalgoers at least, like the seventh circle of hell, with a sea of tents pitched impossibly close together. (Good luck making your way back in the dark.) You could take your lead from the groups of canny campers who pitch their tents in a circle and stick up a flag of one sort or another — the taller and more unusual the better — for easier navigation (and a better festival-campsite vibe).
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If you want to cook, you should bring only disposable barbecues or a permitted cooking stove, such as a solid-fuel, firelighter or methylated-spirit stove. Leave the gas canisters (any size, including capsules), petrol burners and any form of aerosol can over 250ml at home, as they are not permitted.
Electric Picnic also has a zero-waste ethos, with bins for you to sort your waste into, plus a take-your-tent-home policy — the organisers don’t want to have to use bulldozers to clear away the mess some festivalgoers have left in previous years. If you have any broken tents, chairs or gazebos, dead batteries or unopened tins of food come Monday morning, you can take them to the festival’s salvage and recycling points.
Will we be fed, watered and showered?
Yes. More than 100 food stalls will be running across the main arena and campsites all weekend, catering to all appetites. (You can’t bring your own food or drink — with a few minor exceptions — into the arena.)
There will be free drinking-water points across all of the campsites and the main arena, beside the toilet blocks.
Can I charge my phone?
Three Charging will be providing charging facilities in the main arena, late-night arena and Jimi Hendrix campsite if your battery needs a top-up.
Or consider bringing a dumbphone, which is to say one of the old-fashioned, call-and-text-only mobiles you can pick up in supermarkets for not much more than €20. They last far longer on a single charge, and you won’t be left with the groan-inducing repair bill that comes with a smartphone screen that smashed when you tripped over yet another guy rope as you tried to get back to your snugly pitched tent in the dark.
What about other valuables?
Bring as few as possible. And consider renting a locker or storage box for the weekend, in the Jimi Hendrix campsite. The organisers recommend using them for valuables such as cash, wallets, IDs and cameras. They also point out that the boxes are “perfect for storing larger items, such as alcohol”. Because getting back to your tent to discover that somebody’s nicked your booze could be a real downer, in fairness.
How do I get there?
Organisers stress that you need to follow Electric Picnic signage and Garda directions, not what your satnav says, once you’re close to the festival site. There are different routes depending on where you are coming from, whether you are driving yourself or being dropped off, and what kind of ticket you have.
By bus
Numerous coach companies are offering travel to and from Electric Picnic:
- TravelMaster says it has more than 50 pickup points nationwide, with prices from €30, returning on Monday morning.
- Marathon Coaches will operate to and from the Dublin quays, with services to the festival from Thursday to Sunday and back to the capital on Sunday and Monday.
- Irish Concert Travel will run a nationwide return service from €35.
- Martleys of Portlaoise will be running a shuttle bus from Portlaoise train station to Stradbally, which will be a cash-only service costing €7 each way.
- Buses to Concerts will be running coaches to and from Electric Picnic from various places, including Belfast, Lisburn, Banbridge, Newry, Dundalk, Drogheda and Dublin.
By train
Portlaoise has the closest station to the festival. You can check services on the Irish Rail website. Martleys is running a shuttle bus between the station and the festival site.
By bicycle
If you’re arriving by bike you should come through the Tour de Picnic area. Bikes can be left in the designated area adjacent to the Tour de Picnic bike racks.
By car
M7 Southbound (from Dublin and the North): Exit the M7 at Ballydavis interchange junction 16 and follow event traffic signage and gardaí on duty for directions to designated parking areas.
M7 Northbound (Limerick and the southwest): Continue on the M7 and exit at junction 17, then follow event traffic signage and gardaí on duty for directions to designated parking areas.
M8 Northbound (Cork and South): Exit the M8 at junction three for Ballacolla and Abbeyleix, after that just follow event traffic signage and directions from gardaí.
N80 Carlow & South East: Travel along the N80 and N78 to Simmons Mills and proceed via the Windy Gap into Stradbally. Turn left at Court Square (opposite Dunne’s pub) on to the Timahoe Road and turn left into the designated car park.
N80 West: Proceed via Mountmellick and on to Portlaoise Town. At Fairgreen roundabout turn right on to the ring road. Continue to Mountrath road R445 and turn right. Continue to Rockdale roundabout and turn left on to the ring road L26964-0. Turn right at the roundabout on to the N77 to Meelick junction where traffic route merges with event traffic from the M7 northbound and Limerick South West.
If you have a family weekend ticket, early-entry pass, or Sunday ticket: The festival website has additional route details here.
If you’re dropping people off or picking them up: The pickup and drop-off point is at Green Car Park Z, off the N80.
By campervan: The Electric Picnic website has additional route details here.
By helicopter: Ah, now.
Are there any tickets left?
Not unless you can find a resale ticket on Ticketmaster. We wouldn’t recommend buying from any other source. It’s a miserable journey home if you’re turned away after producing what turns out to be a fake.
What’s the age policy?
Bring your passport, driving licence or Garda age card if you’re between 18 and 25 and want to buy alcohol. You will also need ID to prove you are old enough to attend Electric Picnic: the festival does not admit anybody aged between 13 and 17, and children aged 12 or under must be accompanied by a ticket-holding adult throughout the weekend (limited to a maximum of two children per adult). Bring their passport (or a colour copy) to prove their age if they look as if they might be over 12.
What’s security like?
You and your bag may be searched at the entrance, on the site or as you leave. Any item that could be considered usable as a weapon, or which might endanger or disrupt anybody else, will be confiscated, according to the organisers.
You can bring up to 48 cans of alcohol per person into the campsite (and up to four cans per person into the arena after 1am), as well as reusable bottles, empty plastic bottles, bottles of water and soft drinks (although you must keep them sealed, and ensure they are no more than 500ml in size, if you want to bring them into the arena before the bars close, at 1am), flags, food, small glass items such as perfume bottles (up to 100ml) and make-up mirrors, and medication (organisers recommend bringing your prescription or a doctor’s note). This is not a complete list, and it may be updated, so check the festival website too.
What’s the weather forecast?
The latest weather forecast from Met Éireann warns that outbreaks of rain will push across from the west of the country from Friday afternoon onwards. Leinster is expected to see a mix of showers and sunny spells, with some rain expected on Friday evening and into the night. The national forecaster says to expect temperatures of between 17 and 22 degrees. The early outlook for the weekend is for further rainfall, which may be heavy at times in some parts of the country.
