By Sally Churchward. Additional reporting: Spring Wise.
Victorious is, of course, a music festival. But while the bands are obviously the big draw, there are other attractions that make it special. Here are some of the things besides big names, that make those three days on Southsea Common so special.
1. The Kids’ Arena
The kids’ arena is an entire festival in itself. If you have children, you may consider it both a curse and a blessing. Your children will love it. In fact, they will love it so much that they may refuse to leave it. Luckily the Victorious team have put a curfew on this area – it closes at 6pm – so you should definitely get to see some bands after that without heavy negotiating. Better to give yourself up to the experience. The retro gaming tent is a good place to start – you can show off your arcade skills to your little ones as you thrash them at Pac Man, Mortal Kombat and more.
There are loads of free things to do in the rest of the zone too – this year this included a giant bouncy castle, the chance to try out circus skills, Jedi training, bouncing around on springy boot things, crafts, a fitness course, experiencing virtual reality, free chances to win stuff and straightforward free stuff – this year this included chocolate, sweets, stickers, ice lollies, sunscreen and more.
Some of these things involve a bit of queuing but for many that’s only a few minutes and others you can walk up and do without waiting.
The area also has its own main stage, with kid-friendly entertainment, meet and greets with characters such as Bluey and Spongebob Squarepants, smaller stages featuring live music and wandering comedians who, amongst other things, plant a wig on the end of a long stick on unexpected visitors heads,all of whom took it surprisingly well.
2.Accessibility
Not all festivals are created equally on this front. After a very bad experience at a different festival, our reviewer was prepared for difficulties, but Victorious was a breeze. Top marks all round: the process for getting into the festival was very smooth, there were no intrusive questions about eligibility for anything, and the staff were very helpful.
Due to the nature of the site, with several roads crossing it, it’s naturally fairly good for those who use mobility aids, and this was enhanced with well-placed ramps.
The platforms were well-managed and felt very safe and there were accessible toilets all round the site. lot of people working in the accessible areas were themselves disabled, which felt like a big factor in why it worked so well.
There were also excellent BSL interpreters. Victorious is getting this stuff right – other festivals take note.
3. The people
People at Victorious are happy. They want to be there. There’s a sense of having something in common, and the chance to build up brief but warm relationships with other festival goers as well as traders and others working there. I visited the same vegan pizza stall every day (it really was very good, I’ll come back to that) and by the third day they recognised me and we were chatting like they ran my local pub. People often look out for each other – letting children stand in front of them at a barrier for a better view, or just enjoy sharing a moment of pleasure in the same event.
Then there’s the clothes. I can’t help thinking, life would be better if we usually wore floral suits, face paint, flashing headbands, colourful braids and glitter beards. There’s a sense of joy and camaraderie, it’s a pleasure to be part of that.
4. The Premium Area
Yes, you have to pay quite a bit on top of the regular ticket price for access to this zone, to the left of the Common stage, but if you can afford it, and especially if there’s bad weather or you don’t love big crowds, it may be worth it.
The covered viewing platform really came into its own this year, offering welcome shelter to enjoy the main stage during the many downpours and strong winds. It also means you can get an excellent view of the stage without having to battle through crowds or – perhaps worse – being stuck in them if you want to get out. For those sensitive about loud noises, being in crowds, feeling trapped etc, the platform offers a chance to enjoy the festival in a way that feels comfortable and accessible, whilst the whole area means you can step into a much quieter zone if it’s all getting a bit much in the main arena. Likewise, you can enter and exit through a quiet gate.
The toilets are also much better – running water and proper stalls – and less busy.
The area has a number of extras thrown into the price – this year that included face painting (which was priced up to £15 in the main arena) and flower crown workshops. There are also food and drink outlets with generally much smaller queues. And as it’s next to the stage, you can sometimes spot one of the artists and pretend to be cool and unfazed.
5. The food
Victorious isn’t explicitly billed as a food festival, but you can certainly treat it as one. And this isn’t by accident. The festival has a Neighbourhood Eats area, featuring small local businesses, designed to showcase the city’s local and independent food eateries, who are offered a subsidised rate. The area also offers the opportunity to vendors the chance to win the Neighbourhood Eats and People’s Choice awards with rewards like a free pitch for the following year.
This is all great for the community and your tummy – if not your waistline. Among our top picks was plant-based Stone’s Throw Kitchen – the aforementioned pizza – and more – place. I sought them out after discovering them at the festival last year, when I’d had, amongst other things, an amazing broccoli pizza. This year it wasn’t on the menu but I had a chat with the chef who then went to the supermarket at midnight on the Friday, just to appease a customer who may or may not have returned the following day, only to find they were all out of broccoli. Luckily they had lots of other options including some amazing risotto balls and deep fried polenta. I’ll definitely be badgering them for a ‘broc and roll’ next year.
Other, non-local, favorites were Dumpling Pimps and Baba Dhaba Pakistani Street Eats. There are also countless options for treats, sweets and much more. This certainly isn’t somewhere where you have to make do when it comes to your meals.
Early bird tickets are already on sale for next year’s Victorious. To find out more, visit: victoriousfestival.co.uk/buy-tickets
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See our reviews of each day of Victorious:
Review: Victorious Festival, Friday – Loius Tomlinson, Fatboy Slim, Snow Patrol and more
Review: Victorious, Saturday – Pixies, Sugababes, Crystal Tides, Lightning Seeds and more
Review: Victorious Sunday – Biffy Clyro, Wet Leg, Kooks, Natasha Bedingfield, Becky Hill and more