Download Festival 2020
Download Festival 2020
Download Festival is the UK's number one rock and metal festival, consistently showcasing the scene's very best artists at its iconic Donington Park site each June.
Reinforcing the location's legacy as rock 'n' roll's spiritual home, Download welcomes heavy metal and rock icons Iron Maiden, KISS, and System Of A Down as their three major headliners in 2020. It marks one of two homecoming shows for 'Maiden, and UK exclusive shows for both System Of A Down and KISS, the latter of which will be their final ever performance in the country.
In addition to the music, Download has regularly partnered up with wrestling brands including WWE and NXT UK to bring some of the sport's superstars to the festival, while the infamous inflatable Wedding Chapel, Circus of Horrors and musical comedy continue to entertain.
And once the Arena's music has finished, the campsite's afterhours zone keeps things running until 2am on Friday and Saturday with bars, funfair rides and even a cinema.
About the Download Festival
Download Festival is a rock festival, held annually at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019), and at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne (since 2018).
Download at Donington is the most popular British summer rock and heavy metal festival and has hosted some of the genre's biggest names, including Saxon, Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Korn, Soundgarden, Motörhead, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Kiss, Judas Priest, Status Quo, Mötley Crüe, Journey, ZZ Top, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Faith No More and Guns N' Roses.
The Download Festival was conceived as a follow up to the Monsters of Rock festivals which had been held at the Donington Park circuit between 1980 and 1996. The first Download Festival was created by Stuart Galbraith, and co-booked by Andy Copping in 2003 in the same location. Rather than run as a single day event Download was initially a two-day event, expanding to three days in 2005.
The name Download was chosen for the festival for two reasons. Downloading was a dirty word in the music industry at the time, due to file sharing, and rock is seen as a rebellious genre of music. Also Download was to be a Monsters of Rock for the 21st century and the internet would provide connectivity with its audience.
The 2003 festival tickets had a code on them, which would allow festival goers to download tracks from bands which had played. Although this idea has been dropped in subsequent years, the festival organisers have nurtured an online community through the Download Festival Forums. Initially a sounding board for the fans (and critics) of the festival, the boards have become an integral part of the festival organisation with regular contributions from Festival Director John Probyn and Promoter Andy Copping. The forums also provide face to face feedback through the Fan Forum meetings (started in 2006) and organise the Boardie BBQ (2006 on) and the Boardie Takeover night (2009), football tournaments and a pub quiz for the R.I.P. campers who arrive on a Wednesday night.
When Download began, it took place on the Donington Park circuit infield as had Monsters of Rock. However in 2008 developments for Formula One meant that the infield was no longer suitable as a festival site. 2008 saw a move to the "Sunday Markets" site to the west of the circuit. Although adequate, numbers were limited and the location of the campsite meant that getting from tents to the arena was quite a hike. 2009 saw the arena move to a much more suitable location to the south of the circuit and has remained there every year since. Security for the festival has constantly been undertaken by professional crowd management specialists Showsec, although the campsite area has had various contractors throughout.
Since 2009 there has been on-site radio broadcasting from Rock Radio on 87.7FM. This RSL broadcast has aired music from festival bands, interviews and news to the festival site and the surrounding area, with the signal reaching as far as Nottingham.
The Download Dog is the official mascot of the Download Festival, and appears on a wide range of material related to the festival, such as tickets, stage banners and merchandise.