“I’ve been going to Victorious Festival in Portsmouth, UK, since its earliest years as a small seaside festival (2013- 2016). It has since gained national reputation and status as one of the most unique festivals with family-friendly line ups for all-ages.
But what has changed since the early days of the south coastal bonanza? I returned to Victorious Festival in 2022 to explore what has changed since the pandemic years and Victorious’ 2017 sale to a major entertainment company.”
Chris Taylor
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
At a glance
Victorious Festival 2022
3.5/5
Uniquely Beautiful Seaside Views
There’s little doubt that, as a seaside festival on the UK’s only island city of Portsmouth, Victorious Festival boasts one of the most unique festival locations in the UK. It also sports some of the best views, looking onto the Solent, towards the Isle of Wight. Nowhere is better for chilling and gazing out than Southsea Castle and the Bandstand arena.
Identity Crisis
Seaside views aside, the festival in 2022 appears to be bit of a confused event. It has shed much of the branding it began with, which definitely took pride in its seaside origins (think waves, ships, the cityscape) and has replaced it with hippy-in-a-field slogans and aesthetics, which sadly jars somewhat with its coastal vibe and adds to a more homogeneous feel.
Retro Gaming
A fantastic side-attraction brought to the festival by local retro gaming cafe Game Over. A great way to kill some time between acts (or your friends in old skool Mortal Kombat).
Comedy Tent
Often full but with open-sided tents, with plenty of shade, the Comedy tents are a fantastic distraction from the music and pull in top UK acts like Russell Kane and Katherine Ryan.
Kids Arena
Generally quiet but lots to offer parents and children with supermarket sponsors, changing areas and, importantly, lots of space!
Loud for Kids
Despite the range of activities on offer, it’s still pretty loud for children, with each attraction trying to compete against each other, notwithstanding the actual performance stages.
No Phone Home
A classic but still a frustration. The coastal nature of this event makes it even harder to get a signal as tens of thousands of revellers compete for city coverage.
VIP Area
Essential to some, Victorious Festival’s VIP area is well worth the price of entry if you want guaranteed access to basic amenities, seating, food and drink, as well as a decent side-on view of the main stage. See below for more details.
Knees Up
The festival, like most, takes a darker turn come night time with many festival-goers making it less suitable for very young children. By daytime, look no further than the Beats and Swing arena for the more inebriated (and often younger) partygoers.
Plenty of Water
The festival site is abundant with water points, which is really useful during a seaside scorcher. As far as it appeared, the water supplies performed well under the pressure of thousands of festival goers with very little queuing.
The Long Way Round
Depending on the direction of your travel, you might have to walk around nearly the entire festival site (10-15 mins) to get into Victorious as the entrances are few. Not a problem if you are able-bodied but this might be with kids or less mobile guests.
Go Green
Portsmouth is served by an excellent public transportation network including buses and trains, which provide a convenient and eco-friendly way to get to the festival site nationwide. It’s an enjoyable and manageable walk from Portsmouth’s local train stations to the festival site – approx. 30 mins – and those who wish to cycle (like I did) will be happy to see a secure bike storage facility in-place especially outside the perimeter of the festival.
Parking
Commuting by car on the other hand can be a bit tricky. Be prepared for local standstill traffic around the immediate site and a wait trying to be allocated a space when on-site, even in the afternoon. You might be better off parking further out and walking into the site – but follow local payment signage.
How much does Victorious Festival food and drink cost?
As well as a couple of pictures I took to illustrate drinks prices, here are some random prices of food and drink items I found at Victorious Festival 2022.
Duck Wrap
£9
Chips
£4
Drink Can
£2-3
Fish and Chips
£10
Spirits
£7.50-10
T-Shirt
£25
Prosecco and Hot Dog
£8.50
Is Victorious Festival VIP worth it?
VIP festival add-ons seem to be here to stay. Nearly every aspect of the festival experience is available to be upgraded at your own cost. But it’s always difficult to know which expenses are worth upgrading. And does it really help to enhance the festival experience?
I was fortunate enough to access Victorious Festival’s VIP area as part of this 2022 review so had plenty of time to see what benefits it had to offer.
To answer the question simply: is Victorious Festival VIP worth it? The answer is yes, if you can afford it…
The VIP upgrade is especially worth it if you are somebody who would benefit from easy access to festival amenities without any fuss and a great view during the daytime sets.Chris Taylor, Festival Insider
The best bit about the VIP area is that you have access to your own bars, your own toilets, and somewhere spacious when you need to getaway from it all.
The queues for food and all of the other aforementioned facilities are vastly reduced as well (I counted more than 20 deep at 2pm in many food lines on the middle Saturday). Small things like this could make the difference between you having an enjoyable time, rather than missing your favourite act while waiting in a line to fulfil your basic needs.
Victorious Festival 2022 Photo Gallery
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