Oxegen
Encyclopedia : O : OX : OXE : Oxegen
- For the breathable gas, see oxygen.
| Oxegen | |
| |
| Location(s) | County Kildare, Ireland |
| Years active | 2004 - present |
| Date(s) | 8th and 9th July |
| Genre(s) | Rock |
Oxegen is a yearly music festival, the first of which occurred in 2004, sponsored by Heineken. It was previously called Witnness, which ran from 2000 and was sponsored by Guinness. It takes place at the Punchestown Racecourse, Co. Kildare, Ireland and has an average attendance of around 80,000 a day, with around half of these camping on site for the duration, and the rest travelling to the site each day.
While Oxegen has not yet reached the iconic status of Glastonbury, it still manages to attract a large number of acts each year.
As well as six stages of music, there are two large areas for camping which are numerically subdivided. There are also stalls and shops all around the enclosed area, and toilet areas. Critics often note that these toilet facilites are not nearly adequate to satisfy the large crowds. However, in 2006 heated showers were added.
There is also a Funfair featuring a big wheel and other rides, such as the "Magic Carpet", the Big Drop, and the roller coaster although at the 2004 festival these cost an extra €5 each and in 2006, the price rose to €8 per ride.
For the most part, its lineup is identical to that of T in the Park, which runs on the same weekend, but in Scotland. TITP has a longer history and a smaller site, meaning that it sells out quicker, and many acts play Oxegen on the day that they're not playing TITP.
2004 Festival
The Darkness, The Cure, Orbital, The Complete Stone Roses, Scissor Sisters, Faithless, Muse and Cartoon are some of the bands that played at the 2004 festival, which sold out a week before the event.2005 Festival
Green Day, Foo Fighters, New Order, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Frames The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs and Snoop Dogg are some of the acts that played on Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10. A limited number of tickets went on sale in December 2004 at a discount price and quickly sold out, the main bulk of tickets went on Sale in February, costing €150 for a Weekend with a camping pass, €125 for a weekend without a camping pass and €67 for a day pass for either day. The tickets finally sold out on 3 June, six weeks prior to the event. There was no serious trouble with less than 100 arrests for drug offences, generally for possession of cannabis. However, the hot weather on Sunday did result in some severe sun-stroke for some revellers.2006 Festival
A limited number of tickets for the 2006 festival went on sale a week after the 2005 festival on Friday, July 15. On February 20 the first acts were officially announced.Following a 1 week presale in late February, tickets went onsale to the general public on Friday March 3 at 8 a.m. Weekend camping tickets were priced at €160. This allocation of tickets was completely sold out within 48 hours, leaving many fans disappointed. Growing popularity among younger audiences, massive MTV (UK and Ireland) coverage of the festival, and tickets being on sale for a much longer length of time were said to have been some the reasons for the festival selling out earlier than usual. A small number of tickets went on sale on July 4, 2006 but quickly sold out.
The festival itself will perhaps best be remembered for its weather which eclipsed previous records. However following intense rains and stormy conditions on the Saturday (reported to have been the worst in the history of the festival), the weather began to improve by Sunday afternoon with sunny skies and a gentle breeze. There were 225 arrests for drugs, and the Evening Herald reports that around 250 people treated for alcohol and drug abuse, and fears were raised of a bad batch of the drug ecstasy when 40 people were sent to the Naas general hospital, but no evidence of such a batch was found. Additionally, the campsite proved more troublesome this year, with reports of [widespread tent-burning] and an alleged stabbing on the Sunday night/Monday morning of the festival.
In the 2006 festival, The Ticket Stage was re-branded as the NME Stage, MTV sponsored the Dance Arena instead of the Main Stage, and the Pet Sounds Stage was added to the festival. The New Band Stage, Green Room and Bacardi B-Live Arena all returned.
The main acts that played the festival:
Saturday 8th JulyMain Stage NME Stage
| Sunday 9th JulyMain Stage
|
Other acts included:
|
2007 Festival
The 2007 Festival will take place at Punchestown Racecourse on Saturday July 7 and Sunday July 8. Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday November 10 2006.External links
- [Official Oxegen Website]
- [MCD, Oxegens Promoters]
- [Review of Oxegen 2005] on [CLUAS, the Irish indie music webzine]
- [Irish Sunday Mirror article on 2006 campsite trouble]
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