What are the dates for 2010?
June 11th - 13th. Campsites open from Wednesday 9th June to Monday 14th June. Read the full news on the Download Festival Website

When is the next announcements for Download 2010
It could be anytime! Seems to be stealth guerrilla announcements now...

What does the new map look like ?
Should be the same as 2009, maybe a few changes. It'll be published next year sometime.

Who's Headlining
AC/DC, Rage Against The Machine and Aerosmith

Who is singing for Aerosmith?
Steven Tyler

Where is Download being held?
Donington - In the same place as 2009 in the area south of the circuit.

Is Download being affected by Formula 1 (or the lack of it!)
While Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd have gone into administration the festival is still happening at Donington Park. Whoever ends up with the lease will more than likely want the income that Download provides, especially as the track is all torn up and unusable right now!

If Donington Park has lost F1, can't we go back in the infield?
In its current state, no.

But Download should be held in the same area it always has!
Unfortunately this is not possible due to developments at Donington Park. This is beyond the control of the Download Organisers..

Will the cup recycling scheme be going ahead this year?
Yes, and you should still get 20p per cup back if you hand them in. And if you don't, someone else will...

Is it true that I can claim free beer/goodies with last years wristband?
NO! This is a myth that seems to get perpetuated every year... The only thing you're going to get with last years wristband is a grubby wrist.





Items from Last years FAQ's.. I'm going to leave some of these here and add/remove them as time goes by...

Hey, that lineup sucks! Shall I start a thread complaining...?
For the love of god no! There are already 100's. Please use one - preferably try and find one without a padlock next to it...

Moaners! Pah! Can I start a thread to complain about those?
See the above answer.


People moaning about people complaining about moaners. Hows about that?
Do you people not get the message...?


Seriously - while it's good to air your opinion, please make the effort to find an existing thread. It isn't difficult really. Making a new thread about something that is getting discussed ad infinitum is a very very bad idea and we'd rather you didn't...


Why aren't [enter band name here] playing Download this year?
Any number of reasons.

They might not be touring
They might have agreed to play exclusively at another venue
They may have played Download in recent years and want a break
They weren't considered 'right' for the festival this year so weren't asked
They didn't consider the festival right for them
They didn't let it be known they were interested in playing in the UK
Their record label wont finance them to come to the UK/Europe
Their agent is a **** and can't be reasoned with
They wanted too much money
They couldn't agree a day/slot
They're rubbish and only you like them

Bah! This announcement is rubbish, I already knew about that band - they self confirmed!
It isn't official till it's been announced, and even self confirmed bands have to be announced sometime. If you don't want "announcements that you already know" then avoid the rumour section...

[enter band name here] has been self confirmed for ages. Why haven't they been announced?
Some bands self confirm prematurely - they may not actually be 100% confirmed, they may have conditions to fulfill, they may be timing the announcement to coincide with an album launch - there are many reasons and they're going to be different for everyone. Aura were self confirmed, but have now split up...

I've seen some sites offering tickets for sale at Discounted prices. Should I Trust them?
NO! Without dates being announced, these will definately be scams. And even if the dates are available, if they're not an official outlet then it's dodgy at best and a scam at worst. Tickets are not despatched until a few weeks before the festival, so no one has any stocks to sell.

Is Download a metal festival?
No - though there will always be a strong showing of metal bands at the festival. Contrary to what people say, Donington has never been a "metal" festival, and has always been a "rock" festival. Some years lots of metal, some years hardly any! It is however a rock festival, and will stay that way. There are no intentions to make Download into yet another Leeds/Reading/V/Glastonbury.

Is the Reading and Leeds line-up better than the Download line-up?
No, they are just different. Download has bands R & L don't have and vice-verca, you have a choice to make, life's full of them - Deal with it. It also depends on your point of view. I think Reading/Leeds have 1 great day, 1 average day and 1 rubbish day. I know I'll have a better time at Download by far...

Why are RATM//Metallica/XXXXX playing Reading not Download?
It's also where all the above bands (and many more have decided to play for whatever reason - be it the audience they want to play to, the money they've been offered, the dates they're available, the routing of their tour, the positions that are available, etc etc etc.

Why are the announcements dribbled out?
Several reasons. On the one hand, the timing of announcements is set to coincide with various media outlets. Some of this is online, some of this is broadcast (radio) and some is printed media. There are also the bands own promotional plans, which include adverts. Adverts (like the big full page ads you see in Kerrang, Motorcycle News, etc) have to be submitted in advance, press releases have to be written, external PR companies involved, etc. Once a date has been set for a particular promotional activity, it has to be stuck with and that can be weeks/months in advance. Also, unlike the Leeds/Reading/Glastonbury/V Festivals which all are predominantly mainstream types of music (yes, we don't need to go on about Metallica/Slipknot etc), Download doesn't sell out in one go. Those which do (or are expected to) tend to announce bands in a big splurge. Download, being less mainstream (no sarky comments about "Kerrang bands" please ) has to maintain a momentum from the time of the first announcement to close to the festivals start in order to keep media "interested". Unfortunately, you put those two contraints together and it sometimes seems like the announcements are haphazard, disjointed and the level of bands seems inconsistant. Add to that the fact that some media is unwilling to stick to agreed dates, or that some bands decide to announceme themselves before they should, and it all looks bad. And causes no end of frustration to you the boardies, us the moderation/admin team and Live Nation themselves.


Hey! I've found a site called LondonTicketshop.co.uk selling tickets - anyone know anything about them?
The site has been "featured" on Watchdog a few times, and I've only ever heard horror stories about anyone buying from them. They arrange to meet you outside the venue, and sometimes never turn up. They seem to be selling tickets that they don't have, and since the site is registered in Hungary something would seem to be up... General advice would seem to be AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!
Update on LondonTicketshop - apparently they've gone into recievership, though I wouldn't be surprised if they cropped up under another guise...
Also may be best to avoid www.summerfestivaltickets.com according to this thread on the Money Saving Expert website forums.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=9302521

If in doubt about a ticket supplier, google them. The disreputable ones usually seem to crop up somewhere in a heated discussion...


Cheers
Phil