Hello, and welcome to the first unofficial website written entirely in English about the Benicassim Festival in Spain. August 2004 saw the festival's tenth anniversary and its real arrival on the international festival scene. Wandering the streets of the town you couldn't help but notice something slightly different this year: English voices - absolutely everywhere! So the idea struck: a site for you lot. And here it is. Enjoy!

The main aim of this site is simple: to compile a massive resource of information about the festival aimed at improving your enjoyment of the festival. You may ask why we're bothering - do we really need to be told how to have fun? Of course not, but from the outset anyone going to Benicassim needs to understand two things: first, getting on in Benicassim is not as simple as driving your Rover down the road to Chelmsford for a bit of Dido at the V Festival; second, with a little bit of planning, it can be done. Crucially, though: It's worth the effort. Benicassim is like no other music festival. This site is all about removing the effort and increasing the fun, of which there will be plenty!

So why would anyone want to travel all that way for a music festival? What sets it apart? First of all, the music. The last few years have seen some truly legendary artists putting in an appearance: Pet Shop Boys, Brian Wilson, Kraftwerk and Lou Reed in 2004 alone, and Radiohead, The Cure, and Blur among other recent headliners. Add to this the cream of the new crop, from Franz Ferdinand to the Scissor Sisters, the best electronic and dance music anywhere, and a smattering of the finest homegrown Spanish talent, this is a festival which rivals any in Europe on the strength of musical talent alone. Our History section will give you more information about those who have played in the past, and the FIB 2005 section will keep you updated with all the news about next year's line-up as soon as it's released.

None of this, however, is really what sets Benicassim apart from your average U.K. fest. We'll give you all the details in the Essentials section, but here are a few quick points to wet your appetites:
- The music at Benicassim doesn't finish at 11pm like most U.K. festivals, but runs through to 7am, with various big parties around town running from around 8am for those of you who are entirely allergic to sleep.
- Benicassim, for the less observant among you, is in Spain. This means the weather will be hot. In the unlikely event of rain, you will be happy.
- It's also near a beach. And has a waterpark. Of which more later.
- If you choose to camp, you get 9 days camping for free, with good showers, real clean flushing loos, and everything.

In summary, then, Benicassim is more than just a music festival. It's a 10 day holiday in Spain, at a bargain price, with the added bonus of five days of the best music from around the world. You couldn't ask for anything more. Before you start packing your bags though, we suggest you have a good look around our site and see what heading over to Benicassim entails. As well as repeatedly stressing how truly brilliant the festival is, this site also aims to give you a realistic picture - dispelling some of the idyllic myths hinted at by some official publicity, and highlighting a variety common problems encountered along the way.

Finally, we are actively seeking contributions to this site, so if you have any advice, reviews, pictures, or general ramblings about Benicassim please get it touch with us by clicking here. Enjoy the site, and roll on August 2005!

FIB UK, August 2004