10 things to look out for at Beach Break Live 2012
The ultimate crib sheet for the student festival
Photographer:Al De Perez
Chris Eustace - 13 June 2012
So, as 20,000 students prepare to sack off that coursework and descend onto South Wales, here’s what we think they
all should be looking out for at the festival. Pay attention now, there’ll be a quiz on this later (not really).
The Opening Ceremony
Unlike most opening ceremonies, this sounds unmissable: “Bearded
Kitten are getting Beach Break Live 2012 under starters orders with an Olympic Torch Party! The torch will be passed
from country to country and in turn each represented nation will explore the music, performance and cabaret that sets them
apart. A high-octane journey, the venue will be transformed every time torch is passed thematically both visually and musically,
finally culminating in the torch landing back on British shores for a full blown rinse out!"
Bring A Bedsheet, Break A Record
As part of the Olympic theme, part of the Opening Ceremony
will see the festival go back to the Games’ roots with an attempt to break Queensland University’s World Record
for the biggest toga party ever. They need at least 3,700 of you to get together decked out in Julius Caesar-chic to do it.
Head down Merlin’s Forest for the Mass Karaoke session too.
Ed Macfarlane the style icon
What’s not to love about Friendly Fires? With some of the
catchiest, slickest and downright danceable tunes of the last few years, plus an energetic live show and a frontman whose
hip shaking stage moves are as eye-popping as his taste in shirts, they’ll be making a deserved step up to headlining
duties this year. All we need to know now is if the hula girls are coming along.
Chase & Status to conquer again
Following in the footsteps of The Prodigy and Pendulum
by winning over the rock crowd at Download last weekend was the final stamp for Will and Saul – they’re now fully
fledged UK festival royalty. Given how many big events they’ve done now, it’s worth wondering why there was any
doubt about how they’d go down. The dubstep-loving BBL crowd should be putty in the hands of Friday’s headliners
from the off, and it’d be a brave soul that bets against them being a highlight.
The Great Outdoors
Putting Pembrey Country park to good use, there'll be Zorbing, Horseriding,
Skiing at the nearby Pembrey Ski Centre (which also has one of Europe’s largest toboggan runs to "enjoy"), Windsufing,
Parkour, and lots more.
Don't forget about the all new Tub With A View either. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, it's a hot tub situated at the highest point of the festival, looking out onto the Gower peninsula and beyond to make for some stunning sights.
The Celtic Games
The infamous Celtic Games return, unsurprisingly with an Olympic twist, although
with Human Curling, Blindfolded Longjump, Treadmill Workout, The Halfway Jump, Giant Boxing, Monkey Bars, Sumo Wrestling,
Disco Discus, Noodle Eating Contest, Toilet Horseshoe, Olympic Dance Off, Geisha Face painting, and Muddy Balls among the
games to be contested, it won’t be like any sports tournament you’ve ever seen before.
Watch Ben Howard’s star rise and rise
At last year’s Beach Break, Ed
Sheeran played to a huge crowd on the day ‘The A-Team’ cracked the Top 3. It’s from one man who knows his
way around an acoustic guitar to another this year, with keen surfer Howard taking to the Beach fest to show off tracks from
his album ‘Every Kingdom’, which has been bubbling around the charts since its release. Festival season will show
off just how popular the man really is – be prepared to see some devotion when he takes to the stage.
The Return Of Dizzee
With ‘Dance Wiv Me’ blowing the doors off of the charts for
the likes of Tinie, Wretch and Pro Green to bring UK hip-hop to the mainstream, Diz is essentially the architect of 70% of
the songs on daytime radio at the moment, and he’s back to reclaim the crown this summer. Save for his DJ Fresh collaboration
‘The Power’ and 'Bassline Junkie' (his next Number One maybe?), there’s unlikely to be too much new stuff
in his sets just yet – he’ll most likely save that for when the new album’s out, and concentrate on
the hits to make Saturday night the kind of party you’ll remember for a long, long time.
Freestyling
with Abandoman
The Irish comedy hip-hop crew are a must-see – no two shows are ever the same as
they bounce off the crowd, making up quick-witted raps as they go. Get to the front and maybe you could be featured in the
rapid fire verses of ‘What’s In Your Pocket?’. It’s basically the battle raps of 8 Mile combined with
the silly, surrealist comedy of Father Ted, and, yep, you guessed it, it’s hilarious.
Er…The Beach?
That’s right, all 7 miles of it. How many festivals have their own
beach? As we saw last year when the sun came out, when the weather’s good, there’s nothing like it. (Fingers crossed
eh?) If you don’t want to just lounge, beach sports like Football, Rugby and Volleyball will be being played, while
a new stage, The Wreck, will serve the beach with acoustic acts, with a few special guests from the other stages possibly
turning up for special guest appearances.
If you need more revision material, click here for the VF Beach Break Live Spotify playlist.
Beach Break Live 2012 takes place in Pembrey Country Park, South Wales on 14 - 18 June 2012.
Dizzee Rascal, Chase & Status and Friendly Fires will headline this year’s event, with the likes of Nero, Labrinth, The Maccabees, Ben Howard, Wretch 32, DJ Fresh, Maverick Sabre, Dry The River, Ghostpoet and Scroobius Pip all set to play as well.
Check out the full Beach Break Live line-up.
Beach Break Live tickets are available now, four day student tickets are priced at £109 plus £6 booking fee. Four day non-student tickets are £129 plus £6 booking fee.
Click here to buy Beach Break Live tickets.
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