VIP
Review
The joys of going VIP at an outdoor gig
Better views, better bars and better toilets – why upgrading your day festival ticket is worth the extra
“Needless to say, the combination of heat and daylight don’t really agree with me…” laughs Robert Smith of The Cure, slightly struggling in the warmth of what was then the hottest June day on record at Blackweir Live in Cardiff. Swampy temperatures aside, there’s a unique kind of alchemy to be found in seeing a very “inside” band in the middle of a park – of putting dark, introspective, nightclub music in direct sunlight. This isn’t just another gig, it’s a summer headline show.
Given a bigger space to fill, The Cure push things right to the edges. Hinting at retiring in a few years, this might be one the last chances to see Smith on stage – so events like this need to be made the most of. In 2026, Blackweir Live also hosts Teddy Swims, Lewis Capaldi and Pitbull – spearheading a summer of day festivals and outdoor shows up and down the UK that turn parks, forests, castles and fields into very unique mainstages.
Of course, the flip side is that everyone else wants to be there too… If you’ve ever spent the best part of half an hour queuing for a lager while your favourite song echoes in the distance, you’ll know that some festivals can be a wee bit busy. The bigger the event, the more time you can find yourself walking, waiting and wondering whether you really need another drink badly enough to sacrifice two songs for it.
Which is where a VIP upgrade starts to make more sense.
For years, “VIP” conjured images of velvet ropes, celebrity enclosures and the sort of exclusivity designed mainly to separate influencers from the general public. These days, it’s often far more practical than glamorous. Less champagne-and-caviar (although you can get that too), more removing the small frustrations that quietly chip away at your day.
The biggest selling point is usually location. Having a dedicated viewing area closer to the stage fundamentally changes the experience, especially if you’re not particularly interested in spending hours protecting your place against an endless tide of people attempting to squeeze in “just to meet their mate”. Instead of staking out territory before lunch, you can actually enjoy the rest of the festival knowing you’ll still have an excellent view when the headline act begins.
At Blackweir, and at a range of other outdoor stages this summer, your “Garden” ticket gets you a dedicated entry point that takes you past the main arena crowd, right out in-front of the stage. Even if you turn up late you’ll be able to stroll right to the best spot.
And proximity matters more than you’d think. Live music isn’t just about hearing songs you like; it’s about watching the tiny interactions that never quite make it onto giant video screens. You notice the glance between band members after a particularly good solo, the little improvised moments that remind you you’re watching real people, the times Robert Smith actually smiles a bit… Even moving twenty or thirty metres closer can make the performance feel dramatically more intimate.
There’s a practical benefit, too. Outdoor stages are getting bigger every year, but so are audiences. If you’ve ever watched an entire headline set through a sea of raised phones, you’ll appreciate the luxury of having a sightline that doesn’t depend on finding a gap between someone else’s elbows.
Then there are the bars.
Nobody goes to a festival dreaming about queue management, but it’s amazing how much of your night can disappear waiting to order a drink. Dedicated VIP bars tend to be smaller, quicker and considerably calmer – not to mention much closer to the stage. Rather than standing twenty people deep trying to catch the attention of someone frantically pouring pints, you’re often back with a cold drink in minutes.
That has a knock-on effect throughout the day. You don’t need to make tactical decisions about whether it’s worth missing three songs now to avoid missing six later. You don’t have to buy two drinks at once because you never want to queue again. Instead, you can dip in and out when you actually fancy something.
The food often receives a similar upgrade. While the main festival field is rarely short of options these days, the best vendors inevitably attract the biggest queues. VIP areas frequently curate a smaller selection of higher-end food trucks, making it easier to grab something genuinely good without turning lunch into an endurance event.
It’s one of those little improvements you barely notice until you’ve experienced it. Like the toilets…
Better loos are one of those upgrades that sound almost absurdly boring on paper before becoming the thing you’re most grateful for by mid-afternoon. Cleaner facilities, proper handwashing stations and queues measured in minutes rather than geological eras won’t make anyone buy a ticket on their own, but they have an outsized effect on your mood across an entire day.
It’s a similar philosophy throughout the VIP experience. None of the individual perks completely transforms the festival on its own. Better toilets don’t make The Cure sound better. A shorter wait for a pint won’t magically improve Pitbull’s setlist. But together, they remove enough friction that you’re able to spend more of the day doing the thing you actually paid for: watching live music. Perhaps that’s the real luxury. Not exclusivity for its own sake, but time.
Find your next day festival or outdoor summer show here
Header photo by Maxine Howells/Getty Images
