Popular Year Round

Although interest in the town hits an all time high during July each year when the festival carnival arrives in town and kicks-off 4 days of music, sun and partying, Benicassim is popular year round with tourists from all over Europe. The town’s beach is amongst the cleanest in Spain and the town has a plethora of eateries and bars.  It’s the perfect destination for a romantic getaway or a break away from it all with your friends and family.

The beach in Benicassim - stunning

Hotels & Apartments

The town is filled with apartments, there’s also a good selection of hotels.  Check our hotel information pages for further details.  We’re adding to this list all the time so make sure you keep checking back.

Flights

Benicassim doesn’t have its own airport but is still very accessible from pretty much anywhere in Europe.  It’s less than an hour away from Valencia and is still within easy travelling distance from Alicante and Barcelona.  For more information on flights and prices from various UK airports visit our flights pages.

Festival Tickets

If you’re keen to stay on top of the latest news and developments on the music festival then subscribe to our free update service.  We’ll bring you the latest news on additions to the line-up, cheap flight offers and all the best accommodation.  You can also buy your tickets today.

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Story by Ami Sedghi

This Benicassim story is by Ami Sedghi

Twitter: @Iamamiami

As the sun hangs lazily in the sky over the hills of Benicassim it casts a glow on the thousands of revellers brought together for the infamous festival, getting themselves ready for yet another night of amazing music, intense partying and an atmosphere to pass out on the grass for.

The Courteeners are whipping the gathered mass into an excited audience, prepping them for the night ahead. This is the moment I look around and realize that I’m present at one of the best festivals in the world and I am loving it!

So where to start? Do I begin with the sun-drenched venue, the bands starting at 6pm and blasting the air with their tunes till the early hours or the holidaymaking moment when I meet Jack O’Connell (aka Cook from Skins)? The days have been packed with blazing hot days, random incidents and musical discoveries.

Ami and friends lap it up at Benicassim 2010

Well the truth is that it is this messy mixture that makes the event so good.  Swinging from the pop of Ellie Goulding to the indie rock of the The Cribs to the hip hop of Dizzee Rascal and the folk of Mumford and Sons, it blew my musical mind and gave me the pleasure of discovering new bands such as The Ruskins who did a comical acoustic set at the Jack Daniels tent.

Worth another mention was the lovely Ellie Goulding who got a well-deserved main stage slot after the disappointment of Lily Allen’s cancellation. Sweet and talented, she continually thanked the crowd and was an unexpected highlight of Sunday evening.

Ami and Jack O'Connell

Big names The Prodigy, Gorillaz and Kasabian did not disappoint each attracting a crowd as big as their individual reputation and caused dancing so energetic that my poor body complained for the whole coming week when I landed on British soil. No pain, no gain they say? True but the pleasure of the festival still has me grinning from ear to ear now. Bring on Benicassim 2011!

Ami and Wayne - Wayne looking worried for some reason!?

Share your festival stories with us and we’ll publish on the site.  Just submit your story and any related photography here.

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If you like your home comforts like Emily does then check out our hotels information page.

If you don’t like feeling dirty when camping then perhaps a hotel is the way to do Benicassim.  Alternatively check out our top tips for Benicassim pages where you’ll find tips on surviving the campsites and where to eat whilst in Benicassim.

Thanks to Sarah Lee Travels blog for supplying us with these awesome interviews with fans during the 2010 Benicassim.

If you went to Benicassim 2010 then tell us what you thought using the comments section below.  Also you can use the contact-us button in the top right of this page to send us your home made Benicassim interviews and we’ll feature them on the site.  Just tell us what your highlights were, where you stayed, what you thought about Benicassim town and any other thoughts you may have.

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The festival got off to a roaring start with Magnetic Man members Skream and Benga having their DJ set invaded by more than 200 fans during their early morning DJ set on the first day of the festival (August 15).

The invasion took place around 7am on August 16 just as the show was coming to a finish, having being on stage for four-hours.  One man began the invasion and was soon followed by many more revellers as security lost control.  Eventually Skream and Benga were told to stop playing and the crowd dissipated without trouble.

Damon Albarn

During day three of the festival John Lydon had an argument with his Public Image Ltd. bandmates while onstage (July 18 2010).  The incident happended as the band approached the end of ‘Religion’, Lydon suggested that they should carry on playing the song.  However, his band mates seemed not to notice his request and brought the track to a close as usual. Lydon responded in the only way he knows how, by shouting: “Keep on fucking playing!” into his microphone several times.

The rest of the band seemed confused as to why Lydon was getting so wound up and eventually repeated the songs finale before walking offstage without the frontman. Lydon stood on stage by himself continued to berate his bandmates – “Public Image Runaway Ltd,” he called the band, before adding: “It looks like I’m all alone, as per fucking usual.”

Klaxons showcased their new album ‘Surfing The Void’ during a their Verde stage performance.  With just over half of the band’s hour-long set dedicated to showcasing new songs the crowd seemed to really take to them.

One of our personal favourites at this year’s festival was The Cribs, they even declared their love for Benicassim Festival, with Ryan Jarman exclaiming: “What a beautiful festival this is”. The response from the crowd was full of approval!  Drummer Ross Jarman is obviously used to playing festivals in the heat when playing ‘Cheat On Me’, he stood on his kit while continuing to play, the frontman added: “I know it’s been hot today, but the sun is going down now so its time to go a bit mental.”

Ian Brown did the British proud as he spoke in fluent Spanish throughout his Verde stage set.  Despite the increasing number of English speaking festival fans acts who can speak the local lingo really do seem to be loved by the still massive Spanish support that this festival receives.

The Prodigy’s set saw arguably the wildest crowd of the third evening, with hits like ‘Breathe’ and ‘Firestarter’ sending festival goers into a dance frenzie!

Unfortunately the final day presented Lily Allen fans with disappointing news as the star was forced to pull out from the festival due to health issues.  This represents the second year running that Lily has had to cancel her performance leading many to speculate that she just can’t hack what is ultimately one of the best festivals in Europe!  Allen did say sorry for her no-show via her Twitter account, saying “My deepest apologies. I really am truly sorry. I was so excited but the doc wouldn’t allow it.” Benicassim wasn’t the only performance affected as Allen pulled out of several other pre-booked promotional appearances.

The disappointment from news of Lilly Allen’s withdrawal from the festival didn’t last long as Ellie Goulding stepped up to replace her and the final days headliners, Gorillaz, ripped the place apart with Damon Albarn bringing out a number of special guests throughout the set.

Albarn interacted enthusiastically with the crowd throughout, frequently showering them with water, which was much appreciated by many in the blazing Spanish heat. Albarn was backed by his traditional Gorillaz bandmates – including The Clash’s Paul Simonon and Mick Jones.  The iconic Gorillaz cartoon images were displayed throughout the performance on a giant overhead screen.

Gorillaz at Benicassim 2010

De La Soul, Bobby Womack, the Syrian National Orchestra and Bootie Brown also joined Albarn onstage, while the likes of Shaun Ryder, Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and Mark E Smith were represented by videos and samples.

Dizzee Rascal fired out his set on the Verde stage, encouraging the crowd to dance, with ‘Bonkers’ going down an absolute storm.

Dizzee Rascal Goes Bonkers at Benicassim 2010

What were your highlights from Benicassim 2010?  Tell us who you like and who you weren’t so keen on using the comments form below.

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If you went to Benicassim 2010 are there any acts that really floated your boat that you’d love to see make a return in 2011?  Are there any acts that would turn you off Benicassim?

Tell us your thoughts below.

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We’ve split the performances by day (the festival started on Thursday 15th July and finished on Sunday 18th July)

Thursday 15th July 2010

• Benga
• Brendan Benson
• Broken Bells
• Charlotte Gainsbourg
• Cohete
• Dirty Projectors
• El Hijo
• Jack L
• Joris Voorn
• Kasabian
• Love of Lesbian
• Magnetic Man
• The Paris Riots
• Puggy
• Ray Davies
• Scratch Perverts
• Skream
• Southern Arts Society
• The Temper Trap

Friday 16th July 2010

• Alondra Bentley
• Boys Noize
• Calvin Harris
• Cola Jet Set
• Delorentos
• Fionn Regan
• Goldfrapp
• The Haçienda Night featuring Graeme Park, DJ Pierre and Justin Robertson
• Hot Chip
• Ilegales
• jj
• Julian Casablancas
• Mumford & Sons
• Peter Hook performing Unknown Pleasures
• Dj Shadow
• Sr. Chinarro
• Timo Maas
• Triángulo de amor bizarro
• Vampire Weekend
• Yacht & The Straight Gaze

Saturday 17th July 2010

• Alex Under
• Ash
• Bigott
• The Clientele
• The Cribs
• Cuchillo
• Cut Copy
• Daedelus
• Four Tet (live)
• Gentle Music Men
• Ian Brown
• The Japanese Popstars
• Jonston
• Klaxons
• Motor
• PiL
• The Prodigy
• The Ruskins
• The Specials
• The Sunday Drivers

Sunday 18th July 2010

• The Courteeners
• Dizzee Rascal
• Echo & The Bunnymen
• Efterklang
• Ellie Goulding
• Foals
• Funkagenda
• Gorillaz
• I Blame Coco
• Jack Beats
• Leftfield
• Lily Allen
• Lindstrøm & Christabelle
• Midnight Juggernauts
• Parade
• The Pinker Tones
• Prins Thomas
• Standstill
• Two Door Cinema Club
• Yuksek

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Dates for 2011
Music: 14-17th July
Camping: 11-18th July

So that’s 4 days of fantastic music and 8 days of fun camping.

Visit our tickets page for more details.

Sign-up to our free update service.

Let us know using the comments section below whether 2011 will be your first year at the festival or whether it’s another year in a long line of Beni attendances.  We’d love to hear from you either way.

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If you haven’t even ordered your tickets yet then you’re in luck! There is still a limited quantity of tickets available.

If you ordered your tickets through benicassim2010(dot)com or another site that didn’t direct you to one of the official ticket outlets then our advice is to chase them up.  If you don’t receive a response then let your bank know so that they can initiate a claim to get your money back – then make sure you order your tickets today from the official source.

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• Go Karting at the towns circuit – the go kart circuit is right on top of the festival site – you’ll see it as you first approach
• Get wet at Aquarama Benicassim’s very own water park
• Soak up some rays on the beach – it’s always packed during the festival, but you’ll be able to find somewhere to lay down your towel and recover from the evening before
• Sample the restaurants – plenty of little restaurants and bars for the foodies out there

Aquarama in Benicassim stretches over 45,000 square meters.  It’s always a fun day out! Aquarama pride themselves on offering all types of water rides and several different themed areas.  Everything from the ridiculously thrilling such as whirlpools and “the BIG slide” through to the more relaxing swimming pools of Los Lagos.  There’s even a space shuttle Space Shot!  The water park is open from 11am until 7pm so you’ve got plenty of time to have a proper splash about.  Ticket cost at time of writing is 19.50 € or 13 € if you enter the water park after 4pm.

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Check out our tickets page for details of the official Benicassim ticketing partners.

When you’ve booked your tickets check out our flights and travel pages for help with planning your journey to this year’s festival.

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