A months worth of rain in 2 days wasn’t enough to dampen the crowd at Wireless this weekend.

We arrived at about 4pm on the Saturday without being faced with a huge queue which was fantastic at a big event like Wireless. Once in the venue, in London’s Hyde Park, we caught the end of Delilahs set in the Pepsi Max tent where we managed to get into the tent. We had a good view of the stage as well as a space to have a dance around which again was unexpected at an event like Wireless- though at that point we had been lucky and the rain hadn’t yet started so the tent wasn’t too crowded!

After Delilah we set off to the get a drink, this is where we came across the first big queues. Our one tip would be- more bar staff! No cans were allowed so bar staff had to pour out all cans into plastic glasses which was quite time consuming. At other festivals the drinks are on tap and pre-poured ready for purchase which seems to work better- this happened at some of the bars I think but not all. In terms of food it was the case of too much choice if anything! There was a great array of food- from a sweet shop to a vegan food stall.

After grabbing a drink and a bite to eat- as well as using the toilet facilities which were surprisingly clean despite the weather and the number of people.

We next headed over to the main stage for Example, who was my personal highlight of the festival. The rain had started just before his set but he came out absolutely buzzing and had the crowd literally bouncing to every one of his songs. He played a fantastic set which added an electric feel to the atmosphere at the festival.

Example Wireless Festival 2012 Changed the Way You Kissed Me filmed by JuniourG's 

We stayed around the main stage ready for Nicki Minaj and headliner Drake. Nicki Minaj came out complete with her pink hair and dancers and had the crowd dancing to her big hits within seconds. We all especially enjoyed Star Ships and Superbass being closet pop fans…!

Once in the crowd at the main stage there was no leaving – it was absolutely packed! After Nicki Minaj finished her set everyone came over from the other stages to the main stage ready for Drake who was on at 20.50. Drake kept us waiting but came on stage to an elated crowd; it was obvious that for the majority of the festival goers at Wireless- he was the star attraction. Unfortunately the atmosphere in the crowd wasn’t the most comfortable- we witnessed two fights break out either side of us after the first half of Drake’s set so made the decision to leave before the end which was a shame as we missed a surprise duo with Nicki Minaj but on the upside it meant it was easy to get out of the festival and home on public transport.

Highlights of the festival:

1. The line up was great and we had a great time dancing to Example and others
2. Short queues to get into the venue and for the toilets (we did arrive at 4pm though!)
3. Choice of food was awesome and suited us as we had a people in our group with allergies
4. Ease of access- central London venue meant it was really easy to get to and from

Areas for improvement:

1. Service at the bar- was longer than at other large festivals
2. Bigger security presence in the crowd- lots of fights and an unnerving atmosphere during the headliner put a dampener on an otherwise great day 

Festival tip:

If your in a big group have an agreed meeting point (near bar/ toilet) just in case you lose anyone!

Review by: Alexandria Hingley