Backstage at Boomtown
On the back of a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus , Boomtown Fair ( cap . 66,000 ) was back this year for what its co-founder Lak Mitchell says was a triumphant , if hair-raising , return
Words : Christopher Barrett
Despite temperatures reaching 38 ° C , a major scaffolding supplier pulling out at the last minute and supply chain costs rising by millions of pounds , Boomtown ’ s Lak Mitchell says this year ’ s event was one of the best yet .
“ It felt cohesive and grounded . We spent many years being overly chaotic but two years of Covid gave us a chance to step back and really consider and understand exactly what Boomtown is as a festival , what our values are , and what we ’ re here to do . We have got an incredible team of 40 people , their combined experience is phenomenal , and to have two years to plan it out meant we could perfect it ,” says Mitchell .
The Boomtown team may have been delighted by the end result , but the festival ’ s co-founder says it didn ’ t come without some major challenges , not least a scaffolding supplier pulling out a week before they were due to start building an entire area on site .
Says Mitchell , “ We have more scaffolding at Boomtown than probably any other event in the world . One of our major scaff contractors pulled out because they were tied into Operation London Bridge , they said they couldn ’ t take the risk of not having the kit available . That was just so stressful and difficult , it meant that at the last minute we had to build it all in-house .”
Boomtown has long been one of the festival industry ’ s most aesthetically impressive events , not just for the scale of ambition but the intricacy of its designs across a multi-zone entertainment format that sees each area given an individual identity through set dressing . At a time when supply chain costs have been escalating to eye-watering heights , such complexity was not easy to pull off this year .
Says Mitchell , “ In the back end we really struggled . I know Glastonbury had the same problem as us because of the complexities of our events , they ’ re just so complicated in terms of the scale of infrastructure .
“ The rises in all infrastructure and operational costs in the last few weeks was just insane , it resulted in us having to pay millions of pounds extra . We were really lucky because
we were able to put some extra tickets on sale at a higher price , get some lastminute partner deals in , and because it was really hot people were drinking more , but it was pretty scary from a financial perspective .”
With soaring costs and temperatures making for hugely challenging conditions , Boomtown ’ s co-founder says the team worked incredibly hard to make sure the event ran smoothly : “ We ’ ve experienced extreme rain , then in 2019 we had extreme wind , then this year we had the heatwave . All of it was just teetering on the edge of just about being possible , but the vibe in the crew was just like nothing else I ’ ve ever seen – the community spirit of being back together , that coming together in one field and living with your mates – that ’ s what pulled us all through .”
While Boomtown ’ s audience capacity was unchanged this year , the layout of the event was entirely reconfigured . Mitchell says he was delighted with the result : “ When Covid hit we got the chance to start
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