Splendour Festival 2018 10th Anniversary Preview

More than 300 acts have graced the stages at Splendour throughout its 10-year history as it has doubled in size and grown to be the party of the summer for the city and beyond. With the one-month countdown now underway, anticipation is building for this year’s shindig as the line-up gets bigger and better every day. With last year’s 25,000 capacity festival selling out in advance, organisers are urging anyone still to get tickets to act quickly.

Since its launch in 2008 everyone from Kate Nash; Paolo Nutini; Madness; Fun Lovin’ Criminals; Pet Shop Boys; Blondie; Calvin Harris; Scissor Sisters; Dizzee Rascal; Jake Bugg; Saint Raymond; Kaiser Chiefs; Happy Mondays; The Human League; Jess Glynne; The Boomtown Rats; Bananarama and The Darkness have played the Wollaton Park festival.

As excitement builds, the stage is now set for the special 10th anniversary, with award-winning singer-songwriter Paloma Faith headlining, alongside indie rockers The Charlatans – who made their Splendour debut 10 years ago. Joining them at the event will be influential quartet The Stranglers, who have an incredible 17 top 40 albums to their name; Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond; Björn Again performing ABBA’s hits; pop sensation Sophie Ellis-Bextor and feel-good vibes from indie pop band Peace, plus many more.

George Akins aka ‘Mr Splendour’ and DHP Family owner states: “Ten years ago Nottingham City Council and DHP decided to start a festival for the people of Nottingham, an event to showcase some of our talented local musicians and bring some of the world’s best talent to the area. That first year we had Kate Nash, Paolo Nutini, Rufus Wainwright and Ocean Colour Scene grace the stages over a two-day event, as well as The Charlatans, who we’re proud to be bringing back this year. Since then the festival has doubled in size, and we now welcome close to 30,000 attendees to Wollaton Hall & Deer Park.

“Splendour has become a staple on the Nottingham event calendar, and I’m extremely proud to continue working on an event that means so much for Nottingham music. Highlights over the past 10 years include bringing international acts to Nottingham, including Dizzee Rascal, Scissor Sisters, Blondie, Madness and The Specials, as well as a cultivating home-grown talent such as Jake Bugg and Saint Raymond, who have gone on to become big successes. I’m excited to see where the next 10 years take us, and we’ll continue to work hard putting on a great event for the whole family.”

Taking place at Wollaton Park, Nottingham on Saturday 21 July, Splendour is Nottingham’s best family-friendly festival; children under 11 will once again be admitted free and discounts are also in place for Nottingham city residents. Including booking fees, a standard ticket is £53.90, coming down to £42.90 when the discount is applied. Tickets for Nottingham city residents aged 11-17 are £22. VIP packages are also available.

Line-up to date (19th June)

MAIN STAGE

Paloma Faith

The Charlatans

Marc Almond

Björn Again

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Ady Suleiman

Nusic competition winner

CONFETTI STAGE

The Stranglers

Embrace

Peace

Ferocious Dog

Toploader

Ashfields

Clonk

Don’t Forget Rupert

COMEDY STAGE

Brian & Krysstal

Dave Twentyman

Andrew Bird

Patrick Monahan

Alan Hudson

The Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue

ACOUSTIC STAGE

To Kill A King

George Gadd

Soham De

Joey Costello

Re Teu

Katie Cooper

Daisy Godfrey

Ferris & Sylvester

Mollie Ralph & Chloe Rodgers

FRINGE ENTERTAINMENT

Poetry Is Dead Good

‘10 years of Splendour’ panel

One Love

Mrs Green

Kezz

Nottingham School of Samba

Circus Trapeze Rig

Tickets can be purchased from splendourfestival.com or in person from the Nottingham Tourism Centre and from Clifton, Ken Martin, Southglade and Harvey Hadden Leisure Centres. Please note that to claim your Nottingham City Resident Discount in person you will need a copy of your council tax bill.

All words by Matt Mead. Further articles by Matt can be found at the Louder Than War author archive pages.