Electric Picnic kicked off earlier than usual on Friday with most people opting to travel in the morning. This made early traffic very heavy going. Everyone’s favourite secret route (via Vicarstown) was closed by gardai who weren’t for turning, pushing all traffic on the meandering official route, which mean’t everyone got to see plenty of Laois. A crash on the N7 in Kildare was making things extra difficult for traffic management, though it seemed to ease as the day went on.
Off the roads, gardai are in flying form, whether sending hilarious tweets or photobombing unsuspecting Picnicers. There is also a group of “drunk police” on site, who say they are testing people for inebriation - entirely for their own amusement, mind, and with no link to the actual police.
Onsite, conditions are balmy. Hysterical, erroneous reports of a hurricane on the way mean most people arrive with plenty of layers.
The weather is expected to turn on Saturday, with consistent rain due between 6pm and 10pm but for the moment it’s sunglasses and cider rather than wellies and water that are in demand.
Early hits include the Dark and Stormy bar at Body and Soul, which seems to be doing the fanciest drinks onsite. The swimming lake (yes really) is packed with festival bathers cooling off before heading into the main arenas. An onsite motel sponsored by Orchard Thieves is also giving people the chance to take a room for an hour or two. What they are doing in there we couldn’t possible speculate on.
There is also a huge green effort being made onsite with Friends of the Earth advising people which bins to use for recyclable waste, and most happy to oblige.
The crashed double-decker London bus, which is a permanent fixture, has a little more poignancy this year after Brexit. Deep in the Trailer Park, a deeply unseasonal Christmas trailer is pumping out Boney M’s Mary’s Boy Child. This is proving perhaps as popular as the caravan with the Trump 2016 banner.
Ryan Sheridan kicks of the festival off with an early doors set on the Main Stage, with ABC, Nas (a must see for many), the 1975 and the Chemical Brothers due to follow. In the Electric Arena, headlines Super Furry Animals seem to be the other major draw for day one.
Late night, the Anachronica DJ stage deep in the woods looks like being the destination of choice for the small-hours party, with the main arena closing at midnight and the late nigh arena open until 4am.
For the moment though it’s all systems go on Electric Picnic 2016.
