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Electric Picnic is happening at Stradbally Castle in Co Laois this weekend, Friday September 2 to Sunday September 4, with bonus entertainment for early pass-holders on Thursday September 1. It’s the first Picnic since the 2019 edition, before the onset of the Covid crisis.
Overseas headliners include Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala and Megan Thee Stallion, while a strong Irish roster features Dermot Kennedy, Picture This, Fontaines DC and Snow Patrol.
All tickets are officially sold out – including the honouring of tickets from the ill-fated 2020 edition.
Keep an eye on social media and your ear to the ground for people that might have to flip their tickets at the last minute, but be very, very mindful of ticket touts and scammers.
If you’re coming by car from Cork and the south, exit the M8 at Junction 3 for Ballacolla and Abbeyleix. The event is clearly signposted from there. From Limerick and the south-west, continue on the M7 and exit at Junction 17. From Dublin and the north, organisers say car traffic should exit the M7 at Ballydavis Interchange Junction 16.
Drivers are asked to follow the event signage and directions from the Gardaí when arriving to the festival, not their sat-navs or digital maps – there are different routes into the festival depending on the direction you are coming from, and what mode of transport you are using, as well as different kinds of tickets.
Parking is free across three carparks: yellow, red and green – everyone attending is required to park in the spaces they’re directed to by gardaí and staff. There is specialist parking for campervans and caravans for ticketholders with the proper passes, also.
Clearly pinpoint or photograph where you’ve parked – it might save some fuzzy-headed searching on Monday morning.
The Green park is open from 4pm on Thursday for Early Entry ticket holders only, while the Red and Yellow parks are open from 9am on Friday until 1pm on Monday. The carparks are staffed 24 hours a day, and allow access to all general camping areas. No sleeping, camping or fires are allowed.
- More info, including bus arrangements and driving directions from different parts of the country, is available here.
General camping will open at 4pm on Thursday for Early Entry ticket holders with a valid Weekend Camping Ticket.
General camping for Weekend Camping Ticket holders opens at 9am on Friday, and closes at 1pm on Monday. The campsite is staffed 24 hours a day, and you can arrive at any time.
Each of the campsites is colour-coded and named for a different cultural icon – Oscar Wilde, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, etc.
To stay in the Family Campsite, you’ll need a Family Camping Ticket – which also grants access to the Family Car Park. Open Friday at 9am. Family Campervan options work in a similar fashion. More general info and a checklist for families is available here.
Bougie business abounds, from Silk Road Tents to extravagant yurts. Still available for bookings, too – check the ‘Boutique Camping’ tab here for tickets.
Check your bits – pegs, poles, flysheet. And if it’s a new tent, save yourself on valuable festival time by doing a practice run on putting it up before you leave home. Hopefully the improved awareness of environmental issues will mean that more people will bring their tents home again, and even reuse them.
The bars will be card-only.
Some ATM’swill be located in the Main Arena, open Friday 2pm–2am; Saturday 11am–2am; and Sunday 11am–2am.
There’ll be over a hundred different stalls, serving up everything from fried fare to vegan options – there’s also a whole Aldi onsite for the weekend.
Water stations will be located around the festival grounds, and will be free to fill your bottles.
The festival is providing lockers at the Jimi Hendrix campsite – advance booking required.
There will be charging facilities in the Main Arena, Late Night Arena and Jimi Hendrix Campsite. But it might be worth bringing a little power bank you can plug into. Decent brands include Belkin (starting at about €20).
There’s a whole list of items allowed at the campsites that aren’t allowed into the arena.
Deodorants, food, water and other essentials are allowed from campsite to arena, but bags have to be smaller than A4-size.
A detailed list is available here under the ‘What You Can and Can’t Bring’ tab – tragically, air horns have not made the cut.
The Welfare Tent and Main Medical Centre are at the Jimi Hendrix campsite, open 24 hours. Medical and welfare personnel will also be present around site.
Further first-aid points will be at the Main Arena, Late Night Arena, Family Camping, and the Jimi Hendrix, Oscar Wilde, Janis Joplin and Eiru campsites.
The Welfare Tent offers general support, counselling, drug and alcohol information and safe-sex information; while a Samaritans tent will be open 24 hours, with trained volunteers ready to help you with emotional support in the strictest of confidence.
The HSE is trialling a drug-testing programme, but it’s not for individual punters to find out what they have. Instead, substances can be anonymously placed in a special bin, allowing authorities to test later to find out what’s in circulation – especially any particularly-problematic conconctions – at the festival.
Customers should have applied via an Access Requirements Form by the 19th of this month for Access consideration, including a specific guide to campsite for Access ticketholders and complimentary tickets for a personal assistant if needed.
The Access Campsite is available to customers who require accessible facilities, serviced, cleaned and maintained regularly.
It’s located as close as possible to the Main Arena, and is staffed by the Access Team 24 hours a day throughout the event.
Day & Night Zone Managers, Security personnel and stewards are also based in the campsite.
Two friends can camp along with campers at the Access site – users will have specified this on their applications.
- Wheelchair accessible unisex showers and toilets
- Standard toilets and showers
- Drinking water points and accessible sink
- Electrical points for charging wheelchairs or mobility scooters
- Fridge for secure medication storage
For contact information, as well as specifics on lighting and epilepsy, click here.
All the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are here.
From all of us at the Examiner, enjoy the big weekend – take care of yourselves and each other!
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