IT MAY be the calm before the storm, but the weather did its best for the early arrivals at Oxegen yesterday.
Warm, hazy sunshine and a thick swarth of grass, which was dry underfoot, greeted the first of the 80,000 fans who were determined to make it a four-day event at the Punchestown racecourse.
Met Éireann is forecasting “teeming rain” for tomorrow night with 15mm (two-thirds of an inch of rain) expected to deluge on festival goers.
In between, though, it is likely to be typical Irish summer weather with sunshine and showers. “Saturday is going to be a bad day, but Sunday will be back to sunshine and maybe the odd shower,” said Met Éireann forecaster Michael Cleary.
After the mudfest of two years ago which occurred midway through the worst summer in decades, remedial work was done on the site and all the pathways to and from the campsites have been laid with gravel.
Marty Burke (24) from Derry said the prospect of torrential rain was “nothing that a good coat couldn’t handle”.
About 100 willing hands from Scouting Ireland helped pitch tents yesterday and will be doing the same for a small fee today. They will also be on hand on Saturday and Sunday to repair tents.
By tea-time yesterday, about 20,000 fans were already on site and there was no major delays.
Dublin Bus said it had been liaising with promoters MCD and gardaí to ensure there were no long delays for those using public transport, as there had been for the AC/DC concert at the same venue two weeks ago.
AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells along with Oasis tribute band Definitely Might Be and The Stone Roses Experience began the festival late last night in the blue campsite.
The Artane Band, who were invited to perform at the festival in the wake of the Ryan Commission report into institutional child abuse, will open the festival proper on the main stage at 2pm today.
They will play alongside up-and-coming Dublin band The Brilliant Things.
One of the festival highlights will be tonight’s headliners Blur – their first appearance in Ireland since 2003 is on the back of a run of sellout shows in the UK which have won rave reviews.
Matt Gallagher from Donegal said he had been waiting to turn 17 to legally go to Oxegen on his own.
“I’m looking forward to various dance bands, camping sites, the funfairs, the whole shebang.”
Dave Doherty (24), a world music fan said, the line-up was “a little bit mainstream for my tastes, but there’s lots of solid performers here and that’s what it boils down to.”