Roskilde Festival: Denmark’s utopian answer to the major festivals of the world
Is it possible to have a truly wholesome festival experience? After navigating lakes of bodily fluids and bonfires of discarded tents at Reading as a teenager, and hearing horrific stories of people taking enough ketamine to put an elephant to sleep at Boomtown, I thought it was quite clear that the UK’s larger festivals teetered towards the debauched, and that the pursuit of finding a peaceful haven there was potentially a lost cause.
Even Glastonbury, despite its varied showcase of the arts across almost 100 stages and its microfestivals to be discovered within, has a dark underbelly that one has to traverse with extra caution. Again, if you can stomach fighting against the deluge of limbs in overcrowded spaces and the fetid stench of those who haven’t showered since the solstice, then perhaps there’s a case to be made for that coming close to being the ‘perfect’ festival in this country.
The smaller ones also come close, with Green Man and End of the Road constantly going to battle over who can get as many 6 Music Dads to flock in their direction as possible, and the day festivals that kick you out before midnight tend to be slightly more relaxed affairs with equally delectable lineups. However, is there really a festival that offers such a broad variety of music, art installations, and activism, and at the same time cares about the experience of the attendees more than it does raking in ludicrous profits?
Perhaps not in the UK, there isn’t, but Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, an idyllic retreat approximately 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen, which is now entering its 53rd year, may well hold the answer to how a festival should be done. Running over eight days, showcasing music from over 45 countries that covers all bases from pop to jazz and metal to folk, and boasting an environmentally conscious approach to sustainability while remaining completely independent and non-profit, the Northern European festival has begun to earn a reputation as one of the continent’s finest.
In terms of the lineup, Roskilde is spoiling its attendees for choice this year, with headliners ranging from hyperpop superstar Charli XCX to industrial rock titans Nine Inch Nails, as well as Glastonbury alum Stormzy and the soon-to-headline Olivia Rodrigo rounding out the biggest names on offer. Not only that, but further down the bill are indie darlings such as Fontaines DC, Wet Leg and Lucy Dacus, as well as some of the cutting-edge local talents in Elias Rønnenfelt and Astrid Sonne, and that’s not even mentioning the global talent in performers such as Brazilian samba rock icon Seu Jorge and the Peruvian-Congolese fusion duo of Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta.
However, when it comes to Roskilde, it’s not solely about the bands and artists performing. While the majority of people will be attending for the international spread of musical talent on the final four days, the entire week from Saturday to Saturday is full to the brim of other activities for punters to immerse themselves in, and there are plenty of other strings to its bow that its international competitors could learn from to improve the overall experience.
While plenty of festivals have installations that add either a sense of whimsy or additional charm to the environment, not all of them can offer as much in terms of having an overall message of empowerment and mobilisation to create change. With a staunch position on being eco-friendly, much of this year’s artistic scheduling relates to the specific issue of overconsumption, asking provocative questions on how to switch to natural resources, address climate concerns, and even holding workshops on minimising food waste by upcycling ingredients.
Another major focus of the festival is its stance on accessibility and celebrating the diversity of those in attendance, both as punters and creatives. While many festivals attempt to pride themselves on being accessible by slapping a crudely assembled viewing platform in the most inconvenient place and being done with it, Roskilde has tranquil spaces for those who might suffer from the sensory overload of being at a 130,000 capacity festival, and will host talks on how those with disabilities can enjoy a festival to the same degree as able-bodied people can.
Its strong activist stance also can’t be ignored, and while many people might wish to attend festivals with every intention of leaving the struggles of the outside world far behind for a few days of utopian bliss, there are plenty of ways that Roskilde offers a chance for you to combine both worlds and party while remaining conscious of social issues that many of us feel passionate about. From queer raves to celebrations of Black bodies through interpretive dance, the festival doesn’t shy away from finding ways to empower people and shed light on some of the marginalised communities that ought to be celebrated for the diversity they bring to society.
You can’t say that other festivals simply fail on all accounts to offer their own equivalents to what Roskilde does, but the balance it strikes between entertainment and education, and between amusement and activism, is seemingly far stronger than other festivals that simply advertise their musical lineup and hope that that draws enough attention alone. Of course, there might also be some flashes of hedonism amongst the wholesomeness, but at the end of the day, Roskilde is a festival that cares just as much about you as you ought to them, and puts every morsel of joy received by its attendees right back into improving itself year upon year.
