Bluedot Festival Review – 2022

 

Following a two-year break, the Bluedot Festival returned with a bang in August. A unique blend of music, science and culture, hosted at Jodrell Bank Observatory, home of the awe-inspiring Lovell Telescope. An icon in itself.

 

They said there really is no festival quite like Bluedot. They were right. Family fun for all ages. This is a festival where you’ll find homemade spacesuits, dressed up waggons, glitter, families, experiments and more. So much more. The weekend is four days of music and cosmic culture. We enjoyed headline Groove Armada’s performance, Tim Burgess was a great surprise having followed his earlier career, as well as talks from astronaut Tim Peake and a special online appearance from Professor Brian Cox.

 

The Lovell Space Telescope looms over the site giving you a sense of wonderment, it is a spectacular sight and after undergoing repairs we were treated to projections directly on to its surface, and it came to life during the evening headline sets. Bluedot is an immersive experience, from learning about outer space in the many talks and workshops, to exploring the inner space of the Luminarium inflatable installation.

 

What made Bluedot a great weekend for our family was the variety in entertainment. Dedicated areas to capture the imagination of the kids, hair and styling booths, several varieties of bars and food stalls, the VIP area, shows and discussions around science and of course the music stages – so many different acts. As a family we particularly loved the Deep Space Disco area – an area with dedicated family friendly events. The Star Wars characters were a huge hit.

 

 

Bluedot Festival Review – 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bluedot Festival Review – 2022

The good stuff…

 

1 – The VIP tent – we enjoyed the calmness of this environment, the unlimited hot drinks, shelter from the rain, tailored food stalls – however it was much busier on the Friday so do keep this in mind.

2 – The Luminarium – it was an unexpected delight and absolutely not what you expect it to be, absolutely worth the 1 hour queue. From the ages of 2 to 42 we all enjoyed the experience. I would recommend taking up your space in the queue a good amount of time before it opens.

3 – Explore the food stalls, there really is so much choice, all different cuisines dotted across the various areas of the festival. We also found them to be well priced unlike other festivals.

4 – The introduction of the Bluedot Festival app was great for planning your schedule in advance and for checking changes on the day. You can use the planner and revert back to it as the weekend unfolds.

5 – The size of the festival felt just right, perfect for families, children don’t get overwhelmed. I always worry that I will get lost but that wasn’t a problem, despite having 5 stages it didn’t feel like it.

 

 

 

Things to consider…

 

1 – We arrived on Friday to pitch a tent but were overwhelmed by the lack of space and made the decision to drive back & forth as we were local.

2 – Despite the food and drink stalls being well priced, if you have a larger family it would be worth while bringing food & drink in with you so as not to be too expensive. Be warned that if you are staying on site bringing your own food into the event is not allowed.

3 – Be prepared for mud, we were lucky not to experience too much rain however the rain that did fall meant that the camping areas we boggy – being prepared will mean that won’t struggle.

4 – Don’t forget to wander around as you may bump into a few interesting characters along the way. I was a little disappointed you couldn’t track this element of the festival but in hindsight it meant that there were less or no queues.

 

 

 

And that’s our review of the Bluedot Festival Review from August 2022

 

The perfect blend of science, music, activities, an awesome vibe with great food and drink. And to top it off great organisation. A family friendly festival not to be missed.