When you think of a festival one of the main features that springs to mind is that you have to camp in a field, and over time this has included festival tents, campervans, yurts and tepees! SportsDirect.com take a look at the evolution of festival accommodation and how its changed for avid festival goers.

Introduced in 1950, the Volkswagen Campervan had, and still has, a reputation for being one of the coolest forms of transport around. Commonly known as the ‘hippy van’ during the 1960s/70s, the campervan was the vehicle of choice for virtually all festival goers and could be seen covered in funky patterns, flowers and was a place to show off your artistic side!  One of the main benefits of a campervan is that it is a mobile home.  You can throw in everything you need, you don’t need to lug all of your belongings from the car park to the campsite and lets face it – they are much comfier than sleeping on the hard ground!

However, as festivals grew year by year campervans and motorhomes were no longer allowed to park up in the festival campsite and they incurred a charge for a campervan ticket, meaning more and more people opted for the festival tent.

Being smaller and compact it meant that there was room for more people and festivals developed more a community feel with people saying a friendly hello to their ‘neighbours’. Tents have also progressed with them now boasting waterproof exteriors, windows, pop-up designs and room for your muddy wellies, people have even been known to take 4-5man tents for just the 2 of them so they can have more space and room for everything, including the kitchen sink.

Nowadays people are embracing  the idea of glamping and camping at festivals have evolved again. Although the majority of campers still opt to camp in a tent, there are a vast range of options if you fancy a touch of luxury and don’t fancy roughing it. The likes of Pod Pads, Yurts, Emperor Tents and Tepees are all the rage among most festivals, including V Festival, and campervans  have returned with a vengeance  – not only have they bought back the coolness they oozed in the 60s but they now have that retro edge!

If you’re heading to V Festival, Leeds/Reading or Creamfields log on to SportsDirect.com/outdoors for all of your festival essentials, or take part in our camping survey: http://goo.gl/daPwt6  You can also visit their official Facebook and Twitter pages to keep up-to-date with the latest trends and competitions!

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