Festival season has officially begun, and here in America, Coachella marks the start of it. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford to go to Coachella so I live vicariously through all of the Instagram photos and videos that celebrities post. As I’ve been to a few festivals back home in the UK (Reading and Leeds being one of the popular ones) i thought it would be fun to compare each festival, as I also see many posts about the differences between festivals in the two countries.
1. Fashion
Coachella is known for the over-the-top, hippie outfits — the flares, fringe, face jewels and more. Back home, we tend to dress more simple and for comfort. The weather is also not as hot as it gets in Palm Springs and we always have to be equipped for rain.
2. Weather
American summers, at least in L.A. don’t really consist of spontaneous showers, whereas in England, you can expect it to be sunny, cloudy, rainy and then even start hailing all in one day. If you’re camping at a festival, be prepared for your tent to potentially get flooded—mine did!
3. Food
Everyone has photos of aesthetically-pleasing acai bowls and pretty salads at Coachella, which probably cost a fortune. Back when I was at a festival, we relied on granola bars, chips and, if you were lucky to find a table, a wholesome full English breakfast at the nearest pub.
4. Camping
I don’t actually know if people even camp in proper tents on the ground at Coachella; everyone’s photos show them with a bunch of their friends in big mansions with pools and hot tubs. The camp sites at most UK festivals are actually bigger than the main festival area and everyone’s tents are crammed next to each other that there’s barely any space to walk.
There are so many more differences between festivals in America and the UK; Buzzfeed has a lot of funny articles that perfectly describe how opposite the two are. I found this article really amusing, and felt that I could relate to nearly everything they described a UK festival to be like.