V2002

United Kingdom | by John Bownas | 19 August 2002

Festival purists seem to sometimes have a problem with events like the V-fests. 'It's too clean!' they moan - 'there's no crowd trouble!' they complain - 'it's not a PROPER festival without loads of mud!' is their cry.

Now on the issue of mud then it's not strictly true that Virgin have eradicated this gloopy problem. But to some extent mud is a matter of timing, and whilst it does invariably rain at some point over the V weekend, the mid-August calendar slot means that only an extended torrential downpour would lead to the Somme-like conditions of Glastonbury in a wet year.

As for cleanliness and crowd control, here the credit really does have to go to the organisers. Love or loathe the event co-ordination, you have to hand it to the V team for the smooth ride that they offer to many festival goers for whom this might often be their first such experience.

Virtual Festivals descended en masse on the Stafford site for 2002 - with more reporters and photographers than any other publication - with the aim of bringing you the most comprehensive and thorough low down on the whole weekend that you will find anywhere.

Come in and browse our photo galleries for some great band shots - and maybe you'll be lucky enough to pick yourself out in the crowds.