Homegrown Bestival worth its weight in gold

Pic: Sophieanne Morrisey

People gathered on the green which was decorated in true Bestival style Pic: Sophianne Morrissey

Finally, June 17: the end of summer term, London’s cloudy sky, and most importantly, Bestival 2016 arrived at Goldsmiths.

Even though the weather didn’t feel too summery, Goldsmiths’ new look made up for it. The Green was turned into a hub of colours, with food trucks, Bollywood cocktail bar, sunshades, tinsel and fairy lights.

Walking up to the cocktail bus, you discovered familiar yet unusual cocktail names: you had the choice between the Old Kent Cooler, the Liquid GOLD, the Deptford Daiquiri or the New Cross Americano. Very south east London. Still, the names might be amusing, but their prices weren’t. £7 for a cocktail is expensive. Festival prices are known to be extortionate, but student campus ultimately means student budget so the prices – £5 for a glass of wine and £3 for plain chips – felt high for many.

Pic: Sophianne Morrissey

Pic: Sophianne Morrissey

Next on the list was the food. It was good. Even though there were only two street food options on the Green, you could find different food stalls across the university, from hot dogs at Popdogs, Jerk food at MamasJerk, or paella next to the canteen. Everything was messy enough to eat to be qualified as festival food in all its glory.

The various events throughout the day gave an interesting aspect to the festival. We could go to talks, screenings or simply listen to good music. The talks were intimate enough to interact and feel part of the conversation, the screening were very interesting and the music made you wants to dance for countless hours.

Everything very much felt like a Goldsmiths reunion. The talks were given by Goldsmiths alumni who have made it into the music industry, students were given the opportunity to perform and most artists — including Rob da Bank, Rosie Lowe and GoldieRocks — attended Goldsmiths. It felt like everyone was coming back to this familiar place filled with memories: Rob da Bank invested in a Goldsmiths sweater, Sam Hall (aka GoldieRocks) went to her favourite Thai place in New Cross and Rosie Lowe was thrilled to be back.

 

 

 

 

People were laughing, talking and chilling, sipping on their beers or cocktails even after the rain hit the Green. Dancing to Goldsmiths’ own DJs mixes, the Green was lively and fun. A small stage was also set up in the RHB canteen giving the opportunity for students to perform their own music.

The night acts were lively, up-beat and quite intimate, offering a wider choice with the Great Hall, the Green and the Strech. Different places were playing different types of music, pleasing everyone from the indie lover to the dance one. Nonetheless, two big acts over-lapped: Rob da Bank started mixing at 10.30pm at the Stretch when the Rosie Lowe and Ghostpoet’s concerts finished at 11pm in the Great Hall.

Overall, the atmosphere and the variety of activities made up for the prices and confirmed something that we already knew: Bestival and Goldsmiths are a perfect fit.

Rob da Bank said last week: “I’d love it if [Bestival and Goldsmiths] became a regular occurrence but I don’t know — we haven’t been talking about it really.  It’s a cool collaboration and hopefully we could carry it on. It would be something great to put into our diary.” Today, it might just be on the diary already. Thank you Bestival 2016, and hopefully see you next year.

 

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