Boardmasters is now well underway as the busiest part of the five-day festival commences. Tens of thousands have flocked to the coastal site already, setting up their tents and getting comfortable for the main events this weekend. The weather is looking up too and we'll keep you updated with all the latest below.
The five-day annual surf and music festival that takes place in Newquay across two sites, usually on the second weekend of August, is the largest festival in Cornwall and the county's biggest annual event. It's also one of the biggest in the UK and features international surf competitions at Fistral Beach, live music at Watergate Bay and activities for all the family.
Since 1981, and then 2005 when the live music aspect expanded the event, it's brought hundreds of thousands of fans to the area and this year with an increased capacity of 58,000 people - it's be bigger than ever before.
Headliners for the 2024 festival are Stormzy, Chase & Status and Sam Fender. The line-up also features The Streets, Maisie Peters, Ghetts, and Professor Green.
As day four gets underway, the festival has already seen an incident during which multiple people were injured. On Friday (August 9), some revellers were taken to hospital following a crowd surge, which meant DJ Sammy Virji's set had to be cancelled. Rumours have circulated on social media that somebody had died in the crush but these have been quashed by Devon and Cornwall Police.
We'll be at the site throughout today and all weekend bringing you all the latest updates like snaps of the festival's best dressed, where is serving the best grub, live music reviews and much more in this blog.
Scroll down for the latest updates and pictures. If you're at the festival and want to let us know something or send in your pictures, email cornwalllive@reachplc.com or message us on Facebook. For all the latest traffic news visit our separate blog, here.
Key Events
Police issue statement following death rumours
All the Boardmasters site maps
Looking for last minute tickets?
Weather forecast
This year's line-up from Stormzy to The Streets and Ghetts
KEY EVENT
Police issue statement following death rumours
Devon and Cornwall Police have acted quickly to quash rumours that there has been a death at Boardmasters. Following what officers describe as a "crowd collapse" at Boardmasters last night, Friday, August 9. A number of people were hurt and were taken to hospital but organisers confirmed that there had been no "serious injuries".
Reports on the nature of what happened have varied but it has been confirmed that there was a crowd surge at The Point stage yesterday evening. One mum, who was at the Newquay festival with her husband and daughter described it as a "terrifying" ordeal as her and her older daughter were crushed against the barriers. You can read the full story here.
Mary Stenson
Mum describes 'terrifying' crowd crush
A mum has described the "terrifying" moment her family got caught up in the crowd crush at Boardmasters yesterday (August 9).
Read the full story here.
Mary Stenson
Sammy Virji's set cancelled after multiple people injured in surge
DJ Sammy Virji's set, which was due to take place at The Point stage at 8:30pm last night (August 9), had to be cancelled due to a crowd surge. Multiple people were injured, including some who had to be taken to hospital.
Read the full story here.
Mary Stenson
People injured during crowd surge
Police say there was a crowd surge at Boardmasters last night, which left a number of people injured. Some were taken to hospital to be checked over but none of the injuries are thought to be serious.
Sarah Lumley
More photos of the crowds enjoying Day 1 at Boardmasters Festival
Boardmasters Festival is well underway, with thousands already having a party to kick off the weekend. Here's some more photos of crowds enjoying the sunshine and songs.
Katie Timms
More snaps of Boardmasters day one!
Sarah Lumley
Boardmasters lifeguards have been assisting with rescues
Lifeguards on duty at Boardmasters have been assisting the Coastguard with rescues, as they helped pull a number of people in difficulty out of the water yesterday evening (Thurs).
The Boardmasters lifeguards were involved in two separate rescues on Thursday evening, between 6.30pm and 7pm, alongside Newquay Coastguard Search & Rescue teams - pulling a total of 9 people in difficulty out of the water.
You can read the full story - including a safety warning from Newquay Search & Rescue - here.
John Bett
Soft Play rock hard on the main stage
John Bett
Police on patrol
John Bett
Boardmasters drink prices
John Bett
Good Neighbours play the Main Stage
John Bett
Best dressed on day one
Boardmasters is well underway now as the third day of the surf and music festival sees some of its headline acts perform - and with the sun shining and the drinks flowing, all the festival fashion is coming out to play.
We're at the site today (Friday, August 9) providing live updates on the Cornish festival which sees around 60,000 attend the area including the clifftop fields overlooking Watergate Bay.
And while plenty made the decision to ditch 'proper' outfits altogether in favour of swimwear and suncream as the heat holds up - even if the sun is making only brief appearances - some were braving the temperatures in the name of fashion.
The outfit choices are vast and varied - pretty impressive given thousands are camping out for the occasion. There is a clear theme this year though with lots of psychedelic patterns, excessive flares, all manner of cowgirl boots and plenty of crochet looks. The bucket hat of the last few years is also still a huge hit - it's could now be worth renaming the festival Buckethatmasters.
Click here to see some of the festival fashion so far today in pictures.
Lisa Letcher
Top toilet tips
Toilets at music festivals have a tendency to become a hot topic quite quickly, especially when thousands of revellers use them. It's no different at Boardmasters.
The organisers have been working hard over the past few years to take any criticism on board to keep the toilets as clean as possible. They have installed plenty of facilities that are cleaned on a regular basis.
Despite the effort, it's always good to be prepared and accept that you may have to hover over the loo seats and take your own supply of toilet paper. For all the top tips to keep your toilet experience as pleasant as possible, click here.
Jeff Reines
Help Sam
Boardmasters Festival headline act Sam Fender has called on fans coming to see him at the festival this weekend for help in creating a special video.
Read the full story here.
KEY EVENT
All the Boardmasters site maps
Watergate Bay
Fistral
Campsites
Stages
KEY EVENT
Looking for last minute tickets?
Everything you need to know about getting hold of official tickets last minute, here. Beware of scammers.
Lisa Letcher
Boardmasters' rise and rise from humble beginnings to world class
Seen as a rite of passage for tens of thousands of Cornwall's youths post-GCSEs - but by some as a nuisance that's grown too much too fast to the detriment of locals - Boardmasters is an undeniable success story. One look at the exponential growth it has enjoyed over the past few decades is enough to see how much the five-day festival and surf on a clifftop overlooking Watergate Bay and a beach in Newquay means not just to Cornwall but to the UK's music scene in general. Boardmasters attract big name artists and generates a lot of cash for the local economy.
Boardmasters has grown so much year-on-year and this week 58,000 revellers will be welcomed to the hilltop site, up from 54,000 in 2023, despite having its wings clipped by Cornwall Council over safety concerns when applying for an increase to 66,000 in a couple of years' time. That 58,000 festivalgoers is more than twice the population Newquay down the road. It's like having a youthful and noisy tent town on your doorstep springing out of the ground then disappearing again for another year.
Yet it is easy to forget that the festival, adored by hundreds of thousands over the years from all over the country for hosting headline acts as big as Gorillaz and Kings of Leon, was not always this size or that popular. In fact, and perhaps the clue is in the name, Boardmasters really started out as a surfing competition when the world's best surfers would flock to Kernow to prove themselves in the pounding waves of South Fistral.
Read our full feature, here.
Lisa Letcher
Highlights so far
Wednesday
Your Wednesday at Boardmasters… oh what a start to the weekend pic.twitter.com/G0JAyUIb2r
— Boardmasters (@boardmasters) August 8, 2024
Thursday
— Boardmasters (@boardmasters) August 8, 2024Day 2: Thursday Watergate highlights
It just keeps getting better. We're beaming ear to ear...
Fancy joining us? Final Sunday GA + VIP Day tickets available at https://t.co/AbWol9tJWz.
#Boardmasters2024 #SeeYouAtTheBeach #LeaveOnlyFootprints pic.twitter.com/CmZmfIqrYp
KEY EVENT
Weather forecast
After a washout of a day on Thursday (August 8) festivalgoers will be delighted with the improved forecast throughout today (Friday, August 9). It'd going to be a fairly cloudy weekend but, with highs of 19 degrees, there won't be a shower in sight according to the Met Office.
Friday, August 8
Sunny intervals all day, changing to partly cloudy by nighttime. Moderate breeze and highs of 20C.
Saturday, August 9
A cloudy day but feeling mild, with temperatures of 20C.
Sunday, August 10
Another cloudy day but again mild, with highs of 23C.
KEY EVENT
This year's line-up from Stormzy to The Streets and Ghetts
Over 40 artists including The Streets, Maisie Peters, Ghetts, and Professor Green are set to join the stellar line-up which includes headliners Chase and Status, Sam Fender and Stormzy.
UK garage pioneers, The Streets, will grace the stage at this year's festival, having established themselves as one of the most influential groups in British music culture since their debut in 2002.
Also gracing the stage is Maisie Peters, whose gift for weaving stories into song has amassed over half a billion streams worldwide.
Ghetts, one of the UK's most influential rappers, will also be making waves at Boardmasters. His latest work 'Conflict of Interest' has garnered critical acclaim, including from the Guardian which hailed it as "brimming with elegant fury".
An Ivor Novello and Mercury Prize nominee, as well as a MOBO Award winner, Ghetts delivers incisive social commentary and boasts collaborations with the likes of Kano, Wretch 32, and Sampha.
Professor Green, hailing from East London, continues to make his mark on the music scene and this summer, he'll be bringing his top tracks to the Cornish coast, performing on the main stage at Boardmasters. Hits like 'I Need You Tonight', 'Jungle', and 'Read All About It' are sure to be crowd-pleasers.
Joining him is the talented Cat Burns, whose platinum-selling artistry shines through in relatable hits such as 'go' and 'people pleaser'.
More on the line-up, here.
KEY EVENT
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