Has anybody been to Download festival?

[DownloadQuestion]

If so, can you tell me good things about it? I have an older teen boy heading to it tomorrow. He hasn't been to a festival before and is travelling on his own but meeting his friends there. I'm outwardly very encouraging as he can be very quiet and I'm glad he's socialising. I'm internally running worst case scenarios. He's staying for the three days.

I live a stones throw from the site. It's safe it's friendly and he will have a blast.
I'm too old for that now but I'm eagerly awaiting the headlining sets and praying the wind is in the right direction so I can hear it as well as I did Metallica last year.
Your lad will love it xx

If you're worried and anything goes wrong and your lad needs anything, PM and I'll do what I can to help - even a tumble dryer as the weather forecast isn't brilliant!!
Genuinely, I'm walking distance from the site so it's no bother to me x

That's so nice of you.
He does love music so I'm just hoping he has a blast.

Been plenty of times! It’s a great festival, really safe and people look out for each other. There’s often cock ups with car parking but other than that it’s great. If he’s not an experienced concert goer I’d avoid the front of main stage.
Very jealous - I wanted to go this year but I’ve opted for Taylor swift instead

@Icanflyhigh hello neighbour!

@DownloadQuestion send him with waterproofs and lots of bin bags for wet stuff. It looks like it's going to be a muddy one again!

The crowd so far seem jolly and it is usually a good event. Lots of friends heading there over the weekend. Many taking kids - not for the first time.

He'll have a ball!

yes, many times. It’s a nice festival and a way better vibe than places like reading/leeds. He will have a great time.

He's bringing a waterproof jacket, spare clothes and shoes. His friends are lovely kids, but they aren't the most organised bunch.

Used to go every year in my late teens/early 20s as we lived fairly close. Great festival, nice people and friendly community in campsites.
My friend is working the festival this year and I dropped her off today. I couldn’t believe how much bigger the site seemed than 15 years ago although maybe alcohol distorted my memory of it lol!
Your DS will have a great time. Don’t panic if he’s uncontactable at times, phone signal is hit and miss in that area and the large crowds only make it worse.

I'm not planning to message him while he's there. I'm just going to tell him at least 25 more times to call me if anything goes wrong.
You are all making me feel less anxious.

He’ll have a great time and will be far safer than at Reading or Leeds!

personally this is omg, but friend was adamant that it was loads of people that worship Satan attended download, due to all the symbology that is used by the heavy metal fans eg pentagram, etc, i was like omg, how can you believe that, but they seemed quite serious about it.

Metalheads as a group are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I went to a lot of gigs and festivals when I was younger and in my experience the metal festivals were the friendliest and safest ones. If your DS gets into any sort of difficulty people will look after him.

I'm generally more worried about him losing his friends or his phone than I am about him being drawn into the world of Satan worshipping.

He's going to be among his people. As a PP said, metalheads are the nicest people and we look after and defend our own. There's a huge community spirit. Given the other festivals that people flock to, Download would be the safest place he could be. Might get very muddy but he'll be looked after if he needs to be by anyone nearby if he's not doing okay. I'd say that's a certainty. This is the safest festival purely because of the people attending. No one will see him left in a state of any kind. People step up and take care.

My son is there now. He feels happy and safe but said it was freezing cold last night.

Like someone else said, metal-heads are really lovely people.

They all look out for each other.

Download is a much older crowd than a lot of other festivals as well - there are teens there but there are also people in their 30s plus. We're going for the day tomorrow and taking our kids; between us I think we've been every year since 2011 and never had any problems. I'd be happy if it was my DC's first festival 'alone' - much more so than Reading or similar.

Well, he got there and found his friends. I'm less worried now that he's in a group. All your messages have been so positive. I'm glad I posted. It's true that you don't hear about trouble at metal concerts.

Im glad you’ve heard from him!

I’ve been, a few years ago now. I’ve done dozens of festivals and the only ones I felt unsafe at at any point were Reading/Leeds (on the Sunday night). Metal fans are good sorts, even if he manages to get separated from his friends, or loses his stuff, someone will look after him!

He had a good time. He said most of the people were really into the music, like he is, and it wasn't rough at all. He saw loads of the bands and he's bubbling over with facts and set lists and enthusiasm about guitar solos.
Thanks to everyone who posted reassurance.