With thousands of rock fans heading to Donington Park in the East Midlands for the Download Festival next week, National Highways is urging people to allow plenty of time for their journeys.
The annual event is expected to attract around 75,000 people between Friday, 13 June and Sunday, 15 June, with the majority travelling when the campsites open on Wednesday, 11 June, and visitors also expected to still be leaving on the morning of Monday, 16 June.
It is extremely important that ticket holders follow the event signage and travel information that is available on the Download Festival website rather than rely on satnavs, and not assume the route or entry point they have used in previous years will be the same.
Ticket holders are being advised to follow event signage rather than rely on satnavs, and not assume the route or entry point they have used in previous years will be the same.
Additional parking fields, introduced at last year’s event, will be back in place with an increased number of access gates, and people will be able to scan a QR code on their parking passes for live updates on car park availability and capacity.
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In addition, the pickup and drop-off points will not be in the same areas as the camping entrances, to reduce congestion.
Headlining this year’s event are Green Day, Sleep Token and Korn.
National Highways will be dispatching extra equipment and resources, including additional traffic officer patrols, and is working with the event organisers to keep the roads moving as smoothly as possible. There will also be standby recovery in place.
Donington Park is located next to East Midlands Airport, four miles west of junction 23a of the M1 and five miles from junction 24.
The M1, A42, A453, A50 and A38 are expected to see significant increases in traffic, particularly when everyone arrives on the Wednesday and Thursday, and again when they leave on either Sunday night or Monday morning.
Anyone with a flight to catch at East Midlands Airport is advised to allow plenty of time for their journey, while other non-festival traffic may want to consider travelling at different times or using a different route.
National Highways will use electronic message boards on nearby motorways to advise people of any delays.
