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Roskilde Festival

Posted by (Victoria, BC, Canada) on

A friend of mine is travelling to Denmark for the Roskilde Festival this summer to celebrate his 50th birthday. He lived in the Netherlands for several years and was introduced to the Festival by his Danish friends. When he found out I would be in Denmark at the same time, he raved about the Festival, what a great experience is it is and how I need to go. I was planning to go to Roskilde to see the cathedral and the Viking Ship Museum. There aren't any particular musicians that I feel like I need to see, but according to my friend, it's the whole experience that makes it worth attending. So now I need to decide if I should change my schedule to fit in a day or two at the Festival.

It's worth mentioning that last summer I was in Split during the Ultra Europe Festival. I'm sure Split is a great city but I must admit, being surrounded by tens of thousands of drunken 20-somethings made it seem less charming. There will be closer to 100 000 at Roskilde. So the question is: should I go and take in this great experience or stay as far away as I can until it's all over?

All opinions welcome.

Posted by
971 posts

As someone who has been to the Roskilde Festival 14 times, I can only recommend it. I agree with your friend, it’s just as much about the whole experience as it is about the music. There is a very special vibe, sort of an everything goes attitude.
Also note that the festival is not in Roskilde proper, but on grounds just south if the city, so you can still see the cathedral and viking ships without the crowds.
The festival grounds are also divided between the main festival area, where you have the concerts and bars and food vendors, and the camping area, thats more basic and rowdy (and full of drunk 20 somethings). The festival area is open from wednesday to Saturday and this is when most of the concerts are and it’s the main festival. The camping are opens already on the previous Saturday and lots of people see the four day warm up period from sat to wedn as an integral part if the whole festival experience. Though a full week of drinking and partying is a bit much to handle for some.
Also Note that there are different camping options that cater to varying levels of comfort. And don’t wait too long to buy tickets either, as they have been sold out for several years.

Posted by
383 posts

Not my thing at all.... however my Airbnb host in Copenhagen went and loved it. From Copenhagen central station there was a special staffed kiosk with information on the train to go to the festival.

Posted by
111 posts

Thanks for your reply Morton. It sounds like I would have to devote most of my holiday to Denmark on the festival. I don't think it's for me.

Posted by
971 posts

Well you don’t have to devote a whole week for the festival, you can get single day tickets as well :-)

Posted by
3479 posts

I don't know about the Festival, but I highly recommend seeing the Cathedral; and the Viking Museum is superb!
(So is Denmark in general.)

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