Pandora picnic box of live-wire acts hits Co Laois

Some came wearing stilettos, others arrived sensibly in wellies and those determined to absorb the full festival experience came…

Some came wearing stilettos, others arrived sensibly in wellies and those determined to absorb the full festival experience came prepared with sleeping bags, tents and camping cookers.

More than 25,000 people descended on the tiny town of Stradbally, Co Laois, over the weekend to celebrate the last music festival of the summer.

The Electric Picnic, dubbed the electric blanket, attracted revellers from all over Ireland. Those who didn't have camping tickets weren't allowed to bring in their own alcohol. They stood in clusters begrudgingly drinking their cans of beer in the many vast car parks, watching the carefree campers carrying six-packs.

Some had also started something of a revolt, pitching tents in the car park in protest.

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Spirits couldn't be lowered though, as the sun shone. The line-up over the weekend was diverse enough to keep everyone happy.

"I can't wait to see Fat Boy Slim and Kraftwerk," said Sarah from Dublin. Kate from Meath said she was there to see Damien Dempsey and De La Soul, as well as some of the comedians, especially Tommy Tiernan.

Many of the revellers came on day trips rather than for the whole weekend. Others, however, arrived on Friday and planned to stay until today or maybe even tomorrow if security allowed.

"It's the last big gig of the summer," said one reveller. "Sure you have to go all out to make it last as long as possible."

Those in charge of the clean-up operation had a job on their hands as, surprisingly, no bins were provided.

Gardaí at the festival said the weekend had run smoothly and that the crowd was generally well behaved. There were a number of small drug seizures made, according to the Garda, but no major public order incidents occurred.

Electric Picnic was staged for the first time last year as a one-day event but expanded this year into a two-day festival. It is rumoured next year it will expand further, to three days.