New traffic advice issued for Download 2024 after “unprecedented” congestion at last year’s festival
nme.comDownload Festival attendees have been issued new advice ahead of this year’s event to avoid a repeat of the “unprecedented” congestion that took place last year.There were major delays on the surrounding roads, including the M1, A50 and A453, as festivalgoers descended on Donington Park in Leicestershire last year.
Some fans said it took them up to seven hours to get on the site, while according to the leader of Leicestershire County Council, around 600 people missed flights at the nearby East Midlands Airport due to traffic jams.Part of the reason for this may have been that last year’s event took place over four days as opposed to its usual three in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Consequently, many fans were travelling all on the same day and their arrival was less spread out than usual.In total, 75,000 people are expected to attend Download next week, which takes place from June 14-16.
National Highways has said the M1, A42, A453, A50 and A38 were expected to see significant increases in traffic from June 12, when campsites open, and when people leave on Sunday night and Monday morning.They advised people driving to the festival to allow extra time for their journeys and to follow the signs around the festival rather than relying on sat-navs.
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