:For the Australian spin-off, see V Festival (Australia)
The V Festival is an annual music festival in England, the first to be held simultaneously at two sites - currently Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in Staffordshire. Originally, the festival took the name of the current year, with the first festival being named "V96". Since 2003 it has been known as simply the V Festival.
The Northern leg of the first festival in 1996 was held in Warrington, moving to Temple Newsam, Leeds for "V97" and "V98" and moving again in 1999 to its current home at Weston Park, Stafford.blank">http://www.vfestival.com/index.html?pid=1113
The "V" represents the _Virgin Group, and began as another means of promoting Richard Branson's companies. The event is sponsored by Virgin Mobile, with Virgin Radio the official radio station.
The festival generally takes place during the penultimate weekend of August. Its critics dislike its corporate sponsorship and reputation for being the most "posh" of the major British music festivals, such as the Reading and Leeds Festivals. However its weekend format, low queuing times and professional organisation have given it a loyal audience. The festival sold out in record time in 2006.
Although predominantly rock music, the festival books a wide range of music and is probably the most likely amongst UK festivals to book some pop acts each year. Mel C, Dido, and N.E.R.D. have all performed at the festival, and both Razorlight and Faithless performed in 2006. V showcases a mix of British and international musicians, from up-and-coming bands such as Coldplay in 2000 and the Kaiser Chiefs in 2003, and glam rockers El Presidente in 2005, to veteran crooner Tony Christie. Girls Aloud also performed at the 2006 show, and received rave reviews for their performance. McFly performed at the festival in 2007 and received a huge turnout and great reviews that were not expected.
