SUMMER | FEATURE
The The Love-Bot sitting around the kitchen table and having meetings with the kids getting involved ,” says Rob .
Among the wider creative team is Continental Drifts music director Chris ‘ Tofu ’ Macmeikan who oversees Caravanserai , which is described as a festival inside a festival . Created by the artist Pete Bateman , it ’ s a mix of installations and fairground activity combined with live acts curated by Continental Drifts and Cirque Bijou . Another long-time contributor to Camp Bestival is Greg Butler who curates Pig ’ s Big Ballroom .
Since 2018 , the Camp Bestival team has grown to include Live Nation , with the conglomerate having acquired it after Bestival and Camp Bestival went into administration after horrendous weather cut short the former festival and resulted in huge losses .
While Bestival has not yet been revived , Rob and Josie both emphasise their appreciation of the support that having Live Nation behind them brings .
“ It ’ s been hugely positive and I ’ m very grateful for it ,” says Josie . [ Live Nation ] very much leave us to to get on with it but they ’ re there as a great backbone , a huge support . I don ’ t think I would still be going if it wasn ’ t for them .”
“ Live Nation is one of the best things that ’ s happened to us ,” agrees Rob . “ We love working in a small team that expands a lot around festival time . Some people like Bruce Hay [ marketing ] and Jo Bennett [ brand development ] have been with us for ages , and we can walk into the Live Nation offices and see old members of our crew and it ’ s great . We can also talk to the bookers from Latitude , Boomtown or Download . I absolutely love it . To be part of a big family is sometimes really helpful .”
“ Live Nation is one of the best things that ’ s happened to us .” – Rob da Bank
A Family affair Camp Bestival also involves input from Rob and Josie ’ s immediate family , with their children not only coming up with ideas but actually performing at the event . In the case of their son Arlo , he began DJing at Camp Bestival , alongside his dad , when he was 15 .
“ That ’ s a beautiful thing for me ,” says Rob . “ I ’ ve never encouraged him to do it but for the last couple of years we ’ ve done a back-to-back session . He ’ ll be out there at the beginning saying , ‘ Dad , don ’ t leave me whatever you do . You play most of them and I ’ ll play one ’ and then after he ’ s played one tune , he ’ s like , ‘ Dad , wait , you ’ re not playing anymore . Go away !’ He plays the rest of the set in front of screaming girls , it ’ s great .”
More broadly , Josie has found one of the most satisfying things involved in the creation of Camp Bestival is getting the children away from their phones .
“ Keeping the kids for a whole weekend off their phones is so brilliant and important to us ,” she says . “ That ’ s hard these days . And it is so important they are camping and seeing their parents have fun from a very young age . It is very hard in this day and age for parents to have fun because they have so much responsibility and we ’ re always working , so it can be hard to put a smile on your face . I ’ d like to think that once they get through the doors of the festival , and they have put the tent up , they can relax and let go .”
In late 2021 the team announced the launch of a Shropshire-based Camp Bestival the following year , which
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