Forwards Festival 2024: Everything you need to know about the Bristol Downs music festival

The event presents a contemporary curation of music while paying homage to Bristol’s long-standing history of being a music city.

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Alongside a music lineup, the two-day festival on the Downs includes talks, initiatives and even a kids’ area.     

Here is everything you need to know about Forwards Festival 2024: 

Where is Forwards Festival taking place?

The festival will be held on the Downs for the third year running, on Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1.    

Doors open at midday on Saturday and close at 11pm, with last entry at 8pm. On Sunday, they again open at midday but close at 10.30pm, with last entry at 8pm.   

Full site address: Durdham Down, Circular Rd, Clifton, Bristol, BS9 1NE 

How can you get there?

There is no general public parking on the site, with road closures and parking exclusions in the surrounding area. 

So ticket holders are advised to come to the festival on foot, by bike or public transport.   

There is a limited amount of bike parking, with cyclists advised to bring their own lock. 

There is an allocated drop-off/pick-up point on Ladies Mile, approximately 500m from the festival site for taxis/Ubers.    

A shuttle bus service will run to-and-from the festival via the city centre, operated by First Bus.  

Buses start at 11.30am and run until 7.30pm, at ten-minute intervals, dropping off 800m from the festival entrance. 

The shuttle bus will stop at Temple Meads and Queen’s Square on Prince Street, with the last shuttle bus pick-up being at 7.30pm at Temple Meads. 

After that, the shuttle bus will switch to a return service only, leaving the Downs every 30 minutes and dropping off at Temple Meads and Queen’s Square. It will run until midnight. 

An advance return is £6 and will be available via the First Bus app.   

What is the line-up looking like? 

This year's headliners include Loyle Carner and Four Tet on Saturday, and LCD Soundsystem, Jessie Ware and Underworld on Sunday.

For the full line-up and schedule, head to the Forwards Festival website. 

Prohibited items

• Fireworks, laser pens, or flares

• Alcohol, illicit drugs, or legal highs including nitrous oxides

• Animals (with the exception of assistance dogs)

• Selfie sticks and gimbals

• Umbrellas

• Glass (this includes perfume bottles and similar containers)

• Cans

• Hi-Vis waistcoats, jackets or vests

• Bicycles or scooters

• Food, drink, cool boxes, picnic hampers (with the exception of medical requirement or baby bottles)

• Pens or paint

• Loose glitter

• Unmanned aerial vehicles (aka Drones)

• Anything which could be considered an offensive weapon or could cause danger or nuisance.

• Disposable/single-use vapes

Head to the Forwards Festival website where you can buy tickets through See Tickets or AXS.