Bestival 2016 was so bad the organisers had to apologise on Facebook

Organisers of Bestival have written a Facebook post apologising for the apparent failures of this year’s festival.

The much-loved festival, headlined this year by Sean Paul, The Cure, Major Lazor, Hot Chip and Wiz Khalifa, was criticised for the size, stages and sound quality.

Rob da Bank posted that the lack of ticket sales meant the festival had taken on a “compact boutique vibe”. He went on to apologise for the sound standards and tent size, claiming it “was not always what we would have wanted it to be.”

The post read: “Bestival was obviously a slightly different beast this year. Festival land has changed a lot, more competition, a wobbly economy etc, and for whatever reason many festivals have not sold as well.

“We did 40,000 which resulted in a more compact boutique vibe and back to our roots but by my own high standards sound and tent spec was not always what we would have wanted it to be – we can assure anyone coming back in 2017 that this will be rectified.

“As far as the festival market goes we can’t dictate what will happen but we can promise that Bestival will be back to its very high standards next year and we will continue to listen to you and use that feedback to improve every year.”

There was a mixed response to the Facebook post, with festival-goers mainly criticising the line up, tent size and crowd organisation. Jack Matthews commented on the Facebook post, writing: “It had great acts but nowhere near topped previous years…this year it was poor organisation of crowds just pouring in for hours on end.”

Commenting on his overall Bestival experience, Sam, 21, studying at Cardiff University, said: “I thought the downsizing meant it still felt busy and bustling as a festival should.

“They managed to fill the venues when I was there so I didn’t feel like it was empty. The sound systems all did sound very quiet, and I’m not sure some of the best acts had the impact that they could have done.

“The big tent was fantastic, but the Main Stage definitely felt quiet for what it was, overall it felt well organised and cohesive.”

Three-time Bestival-goer, Bobbie Edsor, said she is “definitely” going back next year, adding that she was “genuinely surprised” that the festival didn’t sell more tickets after describing the line up as “incredible”. She added: “Bestival has always been the arty, creative and almost alternative festival, so it could definitely pull off the boutique vibe.

“Personally I don’t think the sound quality suffered at all at the sets I attended, however the stage positioning of stages such as the Space Port and the Main Stage really limited the audience capacity for those stages, creating bottlenecks which became a massive issues with the larger acts – especially Fatboy Slim at the Space Port on Sunday night where people were constantly being rammed around.”

Going to a fun field this year? Learn how to get your drugs into a festival.