Camp Bestival CANCELLED: Lulworth Castle battered by gale-force winds and torrential rain

Fiona Simpson30 July 2018

Camp Bestival music festival was forced to shut down early due to high winds and heavy rain.

Torrential downpours and stormy gales forced bosses of the family festival at Lulworth Castle in Dorset to close the main arena on Sunday afternoon.

Scottish rock band Simple Minds were set to close the four-day event this evening.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Camp Bestival said: “We are utterly devastated and heartbroken to say that we have been advised by our safety teams that we cannot re-open arenas again today due to severe weather and the forecasting of continual high winds and rain.”

Torrential downpours: Camp Bestival-goers pack up their tents as severe weather strikes
Getty Images

Bosses hailed the weekend the “best three days in Camp Bestival history” and told revellers that campsites would remain open until 2pm tomorrow.

Festival-goers thanked organisers for keeping them safe and admitted tents had been flooded by storms that brought a dramatic end to the UK’s longest heatwave in 40 years.

Cancelled event: Camp Bestival was forced to end early due to stormy weather
Getty Images

One person wrote on Twitter: “Gutted, but totally understand. We've turned our tent into a hostel for people around us to keep our spirits up, the smiles beaming and the drinks flowing.”

Claire Duckett added: “Such a tough decision but appreciate it had to be made. Thanks for 2 fantastic days.”

Paula Irving wrote: “Gutted to be missing Simple Minds but it must be safety first. Thank you for giving my stepdaughter and her best mate a day to remember yesterday! Be safe clearing up!”

Other’s described the weather as “crazy” and said their children had been left “agitated” and “miserable” by downpours.

The full statement from Camp Bestival read: “"Dear Camp Bestival, we are utterly devastated and heartbroken to say that we have been advised by our safety teams that we can not re-open arenas again today due to the severe weather and the forecasting of continual high winds and rain today.

"We have had the best 3 days in Camp Bestival's history, it's been our greatest ever show with all our favourite performers, shows, stages and artists which we have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with you all.

"You are by far the best festival audience and we love you dearly. This has been such a tough decision, but the safety of all you guys, the families, kids, and our working staff has to be of paramount importance.

“The campsites will remain open tonight if you want to continue with your Camp Bestival stay regardless of the conditions. Thank you so much for coming and please get home safely."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT