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Venue quotas...

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:09 pm
by Kinder
...ok i'm just asking because i've heard about this happening at other big indoor festivals, in particular I Love Techno in Belgium.

Will there be a maximum capacity for each stage? How does this relate to the total people there. Is there a chance that some of the people who want to see Aphex Twin won't be able to get in? I'm not sure if this was an issue at Hemsby but just with it being a larger site and more stages etc... It happened to me once in Leeds, got stuck downstairs while Squarepusher was playing upstairs! Mind you it wasn't too bad, we had Orbit DJs from Morley more than making up for it :wink:

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:39 pm
by BLOCwknd
Yo

Yes, each room does have a limit - but, just like at Hemsby - the combined total capacity of all the stages is greater than the 'heads on beds' capacity of the resort and the main stage is MASSIVE.... this is why it shouldn't be too big an issue.

At our old venue in Hemsby we were careful to programme the music intelligently so as a to reduce the risk of a 'pinch point' when a stage reaches capacity and people have to queue to get in. We did OK at it, and (apart from the smash:bloc on Sunday night) this hardly happened at all. All festivals have to be aware of the way crowds move to see acts - even those held outdoors.

So, we're applying the experience of the last 2 years to the spaces at Minehead and we're confident that it won't cause a massive problem. The stages are very close to each other and many of our headliners are playing for 90 mins / 2 hours... so you lot should flow from stage to stage seemlessly, and all get to see who you want as you have done in previous years.

However, we're new to the venue and it is sometimes very difficult to tell exactly how you guys 'vote with your feet' so please do be patient or just check out a different stage if you do end up in a queue.. we're still learning about these fantastic new spaces!

FANX, BLOC

Re: Venue quotas...

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:20 am
by stripeyhat
Kinder wrote:It happened to me once in Leeds, got stuck downstairs while Squarepusher was playing upstairs!
Was that at the Northern Light? If so I was there that night - ended up having to dance in a corridor :lol:

Was absolutely rammed wasn't it - proper mad night that one :)

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:39 pm
by Phier
What's the heads on beds capacity this year anyway? Considering you've got a bigger site.

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:40 pm
by BLOCwknd
5000 tix on sale + the staff/artists/security etc

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:31 pm
by royal-t
I remember being in a tent watching pendulum at gatecrasher last year.

I nearly died it was so over crowded in there lol. Couldn't breath, I swear if I fell over I would have got trampled :lol:

And the mixture of sweat & condensation dripping off the roof weren't the best either ha

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:46 am
by tudikas
the capacity of the centre stage seems to be around 2400 :

http://www.venuedirectory.com/RoomView. ... ueid=21505

which means if you want to see aphex, you better get there about 4 hours early.

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:51 pm
by tony diazepam
i heard that people were turned away from the aphex set at Bestival because the tent was at full capacity... I think it will be a good idea to turn up early and count on a lot of people being too mashed to do the same

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:31 pm
by mag
ATP always tend to put BIG headliners (Aphex, Portishead, Squarepusher, etc) on twice at Minehead, and do a separate wristband for each night to ensure that everyone gets to see 'em. And ATP tends to have a slightly smaller crowd than Bloc, afaik. I can see a real squeeze taking place if it's just the one show for Aphex. Will deffo need to get in early.

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:55 am
by Kinder
tony diazepam wrote:i heard that people were turned away from the aphex set at Bestival because the tent was at full capacity... I think it will be a good idea to turn up early and count on a lot of people being too mashed to do the same
i got to aphex early that time, but was in another tent earlier in the day, can't remember who i think perhaps rahzel. anyhoo had to go out for piss, took me 20 minutes to move about 15 meters to out of the tent and 20 minutes attempting to get back to my mates, before i gave up and went to see the end of human league's set...

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 4:24 pm
by throughthebathroomwindow
Kinder wrote: took me 20 minutes to move about 15 meters to out of the tent and 20 minutes attempting to get back to my mates, before i gave up and went to see the end of human league's set...
Not exactly the best consolation prize, mate.