Victorious Festival 2021 - Advice for festivalgoers and visitors

It's now less than a week until the doors open on Victorious Festival 2021 - the first time in two years the music extravaganza has been able to take place on Southsea Common. Revellers are gearing up to see the likes of The Streets, Royal Blood, Madness, Chic and Manic Street Preachers, and banish the previous 18 months with a huge celebration.

Of course, this is one of the first major events to take place following the global pandemic, and with Covid cases still relatively high around the UK, certain measures have been put in place to keep festivalgoers safe and prevent infections. There are also the logistical concerns that come with organising a huge event right along some of the busiest areas of the city.

So, whether you're planning to attend the festival, live locally, or will be visiting during the upcoming bank holiday weekend, here are a few things you may want to keep in mind.

   

Festivalgoers

The most important point to note for this year's event is the conditions of entry, which are a little more detailed than usual. As well as not being able to bring food and drink (except baby food) or chairs into the arena, there are additional coronavirus conditions that need to be met.

Each ticketholder aged 18 or older must provide proof of their Covid-19 status, which can be done via the NHS App. Please note, this is different from the NHS Test & Trace app, and requires a separate download (along with a little amount of setting up so it's worth doing this in plenty of time).

Through the app, festivalgoers can get a domestic pass for events by providing either:

• Proof of a negative lateral flow test - which should be done on the morning of the festival.
• Proof of being double vaccinated - with the second dose being administered 14 days or more before the start of the festival.
• Proof of natural immunity, from having had a positive PCR test within the past 180 days (including 10 days of social isolation following the positive result).

Meeting any one of these criteria will provide a Covid pass to allow entry into the festival. It's wise to do this all before leaving your home, campsite or accommodation, and taking a screengrab of the QR code in case your signal drops as you reach the gates. This will help make entry quicker and easier, whilst alleviating queues at the gates for all festivalgoers.

If you don’t have the app, you can download and print your pass from the NHS website. Alternatively, proof of a negative result via an email or SMS from the NHS will suffice.

Face coverings will not be required at the festival but are strongly encouraged for any busy or enclosed settings.

Further details on all this, including FAQs and other entry requirements, can be found on the Victorious Festival website.

Visitors and residents

Victorious Festival is, of course, a huge event that takes over Southsea Common and the surrounding area, meaning some consideration may need to be given to your plans or journeys during the Bank Holiday weekend and the days immediately around it.

During the event, the seafront road between the Pyramids Centre and Clarence Pier will be closed, as will Avenue de Caen. The other roads in the immediate area are also expected to be busy with traffic and pedestrians, so choosing alternative routes is strongly recommended.

The Portsmouth City Council website has a list of all road closures in the area, as well as the times they will be closed to through traffic.

It's also for this reason that anyone taking journeys in the city during the long weekend should allow plenty of time for the added traffic and potential diversions.

The road closures also impact parking in the city. The D-Day Story Car Park behind LCT 7074 is currently running at reduced capacity to allow for the festival set up. The available space will drop as the festival draws nearer and then the car park will close for the duration, as it falls within the festival grounds. It's expected to re-open slowly as the festival site is dismantled over the week following the event.

Also note that some attractions fall within the festival site so will also be closed to visitors. The D-Day Story and Southsea Castle are within the festival walls, meaning they will be closed entirely on Friday 27 and open to festivalgoers only on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 August.

If you have any further queries about the bank holiday weekend, or any future trips to the Great Waterfront City, get in touch with our Visitor Information team, who will be happy to help.

Visit seafront attractions

Whether you're a Victorious festivalgoer or coming down just for the bank holiday, it's a great opportunity to visit the other top attractions on Southsea Seafront. All those outside the festival grounds will be open as usual across the weekend, so you can head along to soak up the atmosphere.