Dit is waarom wij alle feestjes zo hard missen festivals

This is why we miss festivals so much

Wouter de Vink
By Wouter de Vink

We festival enthusiasts have a hard time. It has been months since the coronavirus put a big stop to all events, but it already feels like an eternity. The loss is so huge, that we can even shed a tear for all these stupid things below…

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These damn festival jitters!

After you woke up way too early again, because you literally jump out of bed since you’re too excited to prty, you feel like you’ve been waiting for hours already. After sick clothing stress, texting with your friends in the special groupchat (with the most idiotic name), and checking a hundred times if you have everything with you, you still get into the car, bus or train.

Because once at the festival site, only then do you end up in one ‘misery’ after another. You have to wait far too long at the entrance, one friend has to go to the toilet for the 6th time and the 600 coats and bags of your friends don’t fit in the locker. The bullshit is almost over: first getting your tokens quickly and hurry a bit because your favorite DJ has actually already started spinning (“See, WE SHOULD HAVE LEFT A LOT EARLIER !!”). But as soon as you walk up to the stage and you hear the pounding bass of the music from a distance, it’s like flying to the dancefloor. Goosebumps!

Dit is waarom we alle festivals zo hard missen

“So, now we can FI-NAL-LY begin”

Sure, you’ve stumbled across the wooden floor three times already, and you find out you’ve forgotten something from home again. In the meantime, the first friend in your group is already missing (yes, it is ALWAYS the same) and it doesn’t seem to end. You just want to party, how hard can it be?

It’s all worth it anyway. Because once everything has been fixed, and you are finally on the dancefloor with your group of friends, you’ll be relieved. That feeling of ‘I’ve got it all together now’ and that you don’t have to think about anything for twelve hours now; except partying really hard. This feeling is the wonderful start to your holiday.

You can navigate like the best

You can hardly imagine it anymore, but once you were celebrating among thousands of people. Jesus, what a long time ago this has been… Because in the past, when Corona was only just a beer, it was a huge task to find your friends in that sea of people, for example if you went to get a drink.

You stand there with your good behavior: with a tray full of drink for your buddies. Of course, not even thought of remembering where you and your crew stand. You text your friend right away, because luckily there is always someone in the group who is on his or her phone all day. And then comes the encrypted directions that only we festival enthusiasts are familiair with. “We are at the second pole at the front left, 10 meters to the center and then behind the guy with an inflatable giraffe!”

All your drinks are getting warm already, but that doesn’t matter. And then it seems as if the DJ is going to piss you off even more, by playing ‘Left, Right’ just at that moment. The dancefloor turns into a jumping tsunami, while in the meantime you have sprinkled 3 liters of drinks on the ground. But then you see that 3 meter tall friend of yours towering above everyone (always handy to know someone who’s that tall), you sprint there between the whole jungle of dancing bodies, and you are finally back on your spot. FINALLY!

Dit is waarom wij alle feestjes zo hard missen festivals Defqon.1

That enormous heat

It doesn’t matter whether it is summer or winter. In the tent, in the open air or in a stadium, it really doesn’t matter. After all, there always comes a time when the room feels like the inside of a microwave oven: it’s freaking hot.

You are waving like crazy with a (borrowed or specially bought) fan, even if after a while you do not know whether it will make you even hotter or not. Then it is also so busy on the dancefloor, that the guys with their bare (but especially sweaty) upper bodies slither past you. Gross… The sweat even drops from the ceiling, but you suddenly hear that your favorite song is starting. Even though it is tropically warm, you still go completely out of your way when that drop comes. After that you have to sit down for a while, but you are happy to do this.

Even little things like these we miss…

  • All drinking from the same bottle of water (these were very different times)
  • 2 coins for 1 banana!?
  • You don’t see a thing from the stage, because someone in front of you is showing his flag like a Jesus all the time
  • You accidentally get an elbow in your face from someone who passes, but he immediately apologizes
  • Someone asks spontaneously if you can hold his drink for a moment: “I really have to dance now!”
  • You plan your personal timetable in advance, but nothing really comes of it at the party
  • “Goddamn, I can’t pee…”

The talks with strangers

Unfamiliar people, we love it! Not a festival day goes by without you coming home with 10 friend requests on Facebook and Instagram. Sure, sometimes the conversations aren’t that intellectual. A “Hey, cool party huh?” or exchanging a bass face with a total stranger, who also happens to know that one song, is often enough for a start of real friendship.

The biggest talkers are always standing with their backs to the stage, or seem to hang around the toilets all the time. Spontaneously you start talking to someone who asks where you can get cigarettes or where you got that lollipop. Then you are mates for life and you party together for hours.

As you can read, it all seems like a huge list. Strangely enough, we festival enthusiasts can pack all these events into half a day, not even talking about all the camping adventures.

We can get annoyed by all these things at times, but to be honest, right now we wouldn’t want anything more. New tracks on a gigantic sound system, the confetti flying around your ears and the far too long home journey… We all miss it. What do you miss most about all festivals?

Footage taken from Facebook page Defqon.1 / Dominator Festival

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