Download Festival under threat over traffic problems, council boss warns

nme.com:

Download Festival could be under threat if there is a repeat of this year’s traffic issues, the head of Leicestershire County Council has warned.The festival caused severe congestion on the roads around Donington Park in Leicestershire as fans arrived on June 7 and 8.

Some of them said it took them up to seven hours to get on the site.Nick Rushton, the council leader, described the situation as “an absolute disaster” with the worst queues he’d seen in Download’s history.

However, he remained optimistic that the situation would improve next year “with a bit of controlling”.“Donington are pretty good operators but they really messed up big time this time,” Rushton told the BBC. “Something’s got to change for next year otherwise I’ll be pressing that the damn thing is cancelled.”This year, Download took place over four days to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Next year, however, it is returning to its usual three-day format.Reports suggest the congestion also created issues for motorists who weren’t travelling to the festival.