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The Download Festival was conceived as a follow up to the Monsters of Rock festivals which had been held in at the Donington Park circuit between 1980 and 1996. Rather than run as a single day event Download was initially a 2 day event (expanding to 3 days in 2005).
The name Download was chosen for the festival for two reasons. Downloading was a dirty word in the music industry at the time, due to file sharing, and rock is seen as a rebellious genre of music. The organizers faced pressure from the rest of the industry, with some even claiming that the Download Festival would "destroy the music industry". Also Download was to be a Monsters Of Rock for the 21st century and the internet would provide connectivity with its audience.
The 2003 festival tickets had a code on them, which would allow festival goers to download tracks from bands which had played. Although this idea has been dropped in subsequent years, the festival organizers have nurtured an online community through the Download Festival Forums. Initially a sounding board for the fans (and critics) of the festival, the boards have become an integral part of the festival organization with regular contributions from Festival Director John Probyn and Promoter Andy Copping. The forums also provide face to face feedback through the Fan Forum meetings (started in 2006) and organist the Boardie BBQ (2006 on) and the Boardie Takeover night (2009), football tournaments and a pub quiz for the R.I.P. campers who arrive on a Wednesday night.
When Download began, it took place on the Donington Park circuit infield as had Monsters Of Rock. However in 2008 developments for Formula One meant that the infield was no longer suitable as a festival site. 2008 saw a move to the "Sunday Markets" site to the west of the circuit. Although adequate, numbers were limited and the location of the campsite meant that getting from tents to the arena was quite a hike. 2009 saw the festival move to a much more suitable location to the south of the circuit.
The Download Festival was confirmed to return to Donington on the 10th, 11th and 12 June 2011. System of a Down and Linkin Park were the two main stage headliners offically announced, with Saturday subheadliners Avenged Sevenfold and Sunday second stage headliner Rob Zombie announced a short while later. On January 24th, Korn, Pendulum, Bullet for My Valentine, Alice Cooper, Alter Bridge, Danzig, The Cult, The Gaslight Anthem, Hollywood Undead, Thin Lizzy, Buckcherry, Black Veil Brides, The Damned Things, Escape the Fate, Clutch, Mr. Big, Gwar, FM, Masters of Reality and Rise to Remain were also announced to be performing at the festival.
Download Festival
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It usually takes place in June (although in 2003, the first day of the festival took place on the last day of May). The festival is owned and managed by Live Nation. The 2011 edition of the festival will take place between the 10th and 12 June 2011.
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