Electric Picnic’s charge of the welly brigade

WELLIES at the ready!

It’s that time of the year again, when more than 30,000 people go to a picnic.

The finishing touches are being put to this year’s Electric Picnic, which kicks off in Stradbally, Co Laois, on Friday.

Organisers won’t reveal how many tickets have been sold but say they are “happy” with sales.

The festival has been running since 2004 at Stradbally Estate and has steadily grown in popularity. This year, organisers are giving rival music festival Oxegen a run for its money, drafting in big names such as Arcade Fire, Chemical Brothers and Pulp.

Limerick’s Rubber Bandits are playing two gigs over the weekend, while other acts include Interpol, PJ Harvey, Underworld, Bob Geldof, Jape, Sinead O’Connor, PJ Harvey and Mogwai. This is certainly “to name but a few”, as hundreds of acts will be taking to various stages over the weekend.

The comedy line-up includes David O’Doherty, Dead Cat Bounce and Ardal O’Hanlon. Economist David McWilliams will also be around for debates, while Booker Prize winners John Banville and Roddy Doyle will be holding talks over the weekend.

One of the more popular tents is likely to be the Bacardi Get Together Arena. Throughout the summer, Bacardi asked fans of its Facebook page what they would like to see at the Electric Picnic, from favourite music to choice of cocktail and it will be bringing more than 12 “likes” to life over the three days.

There’s much more to this festival than music, and organisers really have thought of it all. One of the firsts this year is a dedicated dining area called The Theatre of Food. Here festival-goers can look forward to food demos, wine tasting and speed-dating.

To remedy the rough-and-ready festival look, there’s a beauty parlour with GHDs, make-up and nail bars.

Fossett’s Circus will also be there for the weekend, as will the popular Body & Soul village, which organisers say is a haven inside the festival with music stages, visual installations, massage tents and disco corners. Festival sponsors Vodafone have a recharge tent, where people can charge phones.

* This year, 32,500 tickets are available, with weekend camping tickets costing €240. Sunday tickets cost €99.50 from www.ticketmaster.ie.