Wilderness Festival 2024: What time does the campsite open, who is performing and are tickets available?

• Wilderness Festival 2024 returns once again to the historic Cornbury Park this week (August 1- 4 2024)
• This year’s festival sees headline performances from Michael Kiwanuka, Bicep and Faithless
• Other acts this year include Alison Goldfrapp, De La Soul and Jessie Ware.
• Here are some of this year’s big music acts performing at the festival alongside opening times for the campsite and main arena.

The 14th edition of Wilderness Festival takes place this week, once again taking over the surroundings of the historic Cornbury Park Estate in Oxfordshire (August 1 - 4 2024.)

Formed by the organisers of Secret Garden Party and Lovebox back in 2011, the goal of Wilderness Festival was to create an event blending music, arts and the natural beauty of the historic estate, creating what the festival calls “an immersive, eclectic experience that goes beyond traditional music festivals.

Throughout its short but meteoric history, the festival has seen some big names pass through the festival site, including Spiritualized, Bjork, London Grammar, Metronomy, Robyn, Bombay Bicycle Club and Grace Jones to name a mere few.

This year’s line-up is once again a celebrated collection of artists across the wider music spectrum, with Michael Kiwanuka headlining the festival alongside Faithless and Bicep, but look further afield (no pun intended) and there are some incredible artists that have eschewed headline the event. De La Soul, I’m looking at you.

As the festival has made efforts to promote sustainability and environmental consciousness, perhaps the list of items not to bring this year compared to other festivals might be as diverse as the lineup; so what should you leave at home before heading to Wilderness Festival 2024, and what time should you arrive at the festival site this week?

Who is performing at Wilderness Festival 2024?

Wilderness Festival 2024 is set to have headline performances from the likes of Michael Kiwanuka, Faithless, BICEP, Jessie Ware, Barry Can’t Swim and Alison Goldfrapp.

Elsewhere on the rather large bill, you can also expect to see performances from De La Soul, Bill Bailey, Palace, Craig Charles and Björn Again to name a mere few of the huge festival lineup - take a look for yourself. 

• Michael Kiwanuka
• Faithless (Live)
• BICEP present CHROMA (AV DJ set)
• Jessie Ware
• Alison Goldfrapp
• Barry Can't Swim
• Palace
• Bill Bailey 
• Björn Again 
• Craig Charles
• De La Soul 
• Dutty Moonshine Big Band 
• Eats Everything House Party 
• Ewan McVicar 
• Ibibio Sound Machine 
• Oh My God! It's The Church 
• Saint Ludo 
• Sarah Story 
• Special Request 
• The Teskey Brothers 
• The Van Morrison Alumni Band 
• Spooky Cash-Cash

What is the weather forecast for Wilderness Festival 2024?

Those heading along to the festival site on Thursday, August 1 2024, be aware that there is a yellow weather warning in effect around the Charlbury area due to the onset of thunderstorms until 23:59 the same day.

Aside from that yellow weather warning, the rest of Wilderness Festival is set to be dry but cloudy according to the Met Office, with a high of 27°c degrees on Thursday, cooling off by the weekend.

Weather forecast for Wilderness Festival day-by-day

• Thursday August 1 2024: Thunderstorms (27°c.)
• Friday August 2 2024: Sunny intervals changing to partly cloudy by nighttime (26°c.)
• Saturday August 3 2024: Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime (23°c.)
• Sunday August 4 2024: Cloudy (22°c.)

What time are the gates opening for Wilderness Festival 2024?

Gates to enter the festival site for Wilderness Festival 2024 are set to open from 12:00 on Thursday August 1 2024, with car parks open from 10am and the main arena opening at 2:00pm. 

For the remainder of the week, the site will open from 9am with last entries taking place at 10pm on Friday, 9pm on Saturday and 6pm on Sunday. Campsites will need to be vacated on Monday August 5 2024 by midday.

The main arena is scheduled to open from 2pm on August 1 2024, then 7:45am for the remainder of the festival. The main stage performances are scheduled to take place from 3pm on each day - except on August 1 2024 where no main-stage performances are taking place. 

What items are prohibited from bringing with me to Wilderness Festival 2024?

Bag checks will be undertaken before entering the site for Wilderness Festival 2024, so to avoid any drama before setting foot on the site, the following items are either prohibited to outright banned from bringing to the festival. 

• Aerosols over 250ml
• Air Horns
• Alcohol for personal consumption (not in glass containers, campsite only)
• Animals (other than pre-registered guide/hearing dogs)
• Audio recorders NO NO
• Bicycles (there is a bicycle parking facility in the Pick Up and Drop Off Area)
• Camping equipment and cutlery (campsite only)
• Candles and incense
• Chairs (campsite only)
• Chimeneas
• Cigarettes (not for personal consumption)
• (Disposable) barbeques and permitted cooking stoves (campsite only - may be banned in the event of unusually warm or dry weather)
• Drones or any remote flying devices
• Fire baskets and open metal fire pits
• Fires and firewood
• Fireworks, flares and blow torches
• Gazebos and Canopies
• Gas canisters and cylinders - over 450g or 2.75kg if it’s a rechargeable canister (campsite only)
• Generators – fitted in Live-In Vehicles (campsite only)
• Generators – not fitted in Live-In Vehicles
• Glass items (excluding makeup/perfume under 100ml)
• Goods for unauthorised trading and goods with unauthorised logos
• Illegal and unidentifiable substances, drugs, herbal highs - including nitrous oxide and associated equipment
• Knives and weapons or anything that could reasonably be considered for use as a weapon
• Megaphones
• Non-bio-degradable glitter (please note that bio-degradable glitter must be removed with a face wipe, not water to stop it from going into the water stream and causing harm to wildlife and the environment)
• Portable laser equipment and laser pens
• Unauthorised professional film or video equipment and recording equipment
• Petrol burners
• Plastic water and soft drinks bottles – opened
• Radios and walkie-talkies
• Skateboards, scooters, hoverboards or any personal motorised vehicles
• Sky lanterns and kites
• Large sound systems
• Unofficial Hi-Viz and reflective jackets

Are there still tickets available for Wilderness Festival 2024?

There are still a number of tickets available for Wilderness Festival 2024, be it camping or day tickets to the event. For a look at what options are suitable for your festival experience in Oxfordshire, you can visit the official Wilderness Festival ticketing page. 

Have you been to Wilderness Festival before or are you planning on heading to this year’s event for the first time? We’d love to hear about your experiences - drop a comment down below or email the writer at [email protected].