| Music Festival Name: | T in the Park |
| Location: | Strathallan Castle, Perthshire |
| Years Active: | 1994–2016 |
| Dates: | 10–13 July 2015 |
| Website: | http://tinthepark.com/ |
T in the Park 2015 was a three-day music festival which took place between 10–13 July 2015 and was held at Strathallan Castle for the first time, which is 20 miles away from its previous location at the disused Balado airfield, Kinross-shire.[1] [2] It hit the news on several occasions including when supporters of the event said that the generation of income outweighed any local concerns about the impact on local wildlife,[3] one man died,[4] another man was assaulted with a bottle,[5] and traffic control was chaotic.[6] >
In 2014, plans were drawn up to allow the festival to be relocated to Strathallan Castle.[7] This was due to a section of the festival grounds at Balado being situated over the Forties pipeline causing the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to request for the festival to be relocated away from its previous site at Balado. According to HSE, an accident could result in a large number of casualties and people receiving a dangerous dose of thermal radiation.[8]
Ever since the announcement, concerns have been raised about the new location. A couple tried to take legal action against the move.[9] A group of residents set up the Strathallan T Action Group (STAG) to highlights its concern.[10] Full planning permission became required for the switch from Balado.[11] Two public consultations were held as a result.[12] One of the biggest concerns was the traffic management;[13] Yorkshire-based traffic management experts SEP Ltd. were brought in to help resolve the issues. An SEP spokesman said:
There is a scientific calculation of network capacity and flow rates that can be applied to the road network being used by the event. A desktop modelling exercise has been performed and it was successful. We are confident of our plans and are extremely experienced in managing traffic plans in rural areas. Road safety is of the utmost importance to us and consideration is being given to this. Speed reductions will be in place on certain key roads around the event, as well as other measures.[14]
In February 2015, a pair of ospreys returned to their long-term roost despite attempts to usher them to a new custom-built nest. It is understood that the ospreys' return to their former home means a buffer zone of 2500 ft will likely be required to safeguard them during the three-day festival encroaching significantly on the proposed festival site. A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said the wildlife organisation was "fully satisfied" the birds had returned to the old nest. This was disputed and the police were called after DF Concerts tried to divert the birds to the new nest by using balloons, flags, and a cherry picker which RSPB Scotland condemned as unethical and unacceptable, although not illegal. James Reynolds of RSPB Scotland said: "We are aware that the ospreys have been reported at the nest site and indeed we have some video footage that shows one of them alighting on the nest with a stick". A T in the Park spokeswoman denied any wrongdoing.[15] Shortly after the event RSPB Scotland stated the Strathallan Estate's ospreys were fine A spokesman said: “The ospreys were closely monitored over the weekend and both adult birds are still present at the nest site with their chicks, and behaving normally.[16]
The event was finally approved in May despite 1,600 letters of objection sent to Perth and Kinross council.[17] [18]
The first headline act to be announced were The Libertines and shortly after other headliners Kasabian and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, along with other acts including Jessie J, Avicii, Hozier, Sam Smith, The Vaccines, and Twin Atlantic.[19]
| The Scottish Sun Signing Tent | |||
| Friday 10 July | Saturday 11 July | Sunday 12 July | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slaves The Wombats Sigma | The LaFontaines The Strypes Jack Savoretti Stevie McCrorie | Catfish and the Bottlemen Peace James Bay The View Kodaline | |
| Main Stage | |||
| Friday 10 July | Saturday 11 July | Sunday 12 July | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kasabian 22:20–23:50 Sam Smith 20:40–21:40 Rudimental 19:15–20:10 Hozier 17:55–18:45 Annie Mac 16:40–17:25 The Wombats 15:30–16:10 The Cribs 14:25–15:00 Prides 13:30–14:00 | Avicii 22:30–23:50 The Libertines 20:30–21:50 The Script 19:00–20:00 George Ezra 17:40–18:30 Jessie J 16:25–17:10 Labrinth 15:10–15:55 Seasick Steve 14:00–14:40 Lawson 13:05–13:35 The LaFontaines 12:10–12:40 | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 21:20–22:50 Stereophonics 19:30–20:45 Paloma Faith 18:10–19:00 Alabama Shakes 16:50–17:40 James Bay 15:35–16:20 The View 14:25–15:05 Ella Eyre 13:25–14:05 The Parsonage Choir 12:30–13:00 | |
| BBC Three/ Radio 1 Stage | |||
| Friday 10 July | Saturday 11 July | Sunday 12 July | |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Guetta 22:35–23:50 The War on Drugs 20:50–21:55 Afrojack 19:20–20:20 Gorgon City 18:00–18:50 Sigma 16:40–17:30 Fuse ODG 15:30–16:10 Slaves 14:30–15:30 Lower Than Atlantis 13:30–14:05 | Twin Atlantic 23:35–00:50 Alt-J 21:55–22:55 The Vaccines 20:25–21:25 Enter Shikari 18:55–19:55 Years & Years 17:35–18:25 Charli XCX 16:20–17:05 Palma Violets 15:10–15:50 Circa Waves 14:00–14:40 The Strypes 12:50–13:30 | The Prodigy 21:30–22:50 Jamie T 19:50–20:50 Kodaline 18:30–19:20 Catfish and the Bottlemen 17:10–18:00 Idlewild 15:55–16:40 Peace 14:45–15:25 Wolf Alice 13:35–14:15 Marmozets 12:30–13:05 | |
| Sure presents King Tut's Wah Wah Tent | |||
| Friday 10 July | Saturday 11 July | Sunday 12 July | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Ronson 22:35–23:50 Fatboy Slim 20:50–22:05 Hot Chip 19:20–20:20 Duke Dumont 18:05–18:50 Jessie Ware 16:55–17:35 Hannah Wants 15:45–16:25 The Twilight Sad 14:45–15:15 Lucy Rose 13:30–14:00 | Courteeners 23:35–00:50 The Proclaimers 22:05–23:05 St. Vincent 20:35–21:35 Jungle 19:05–20:05 Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott 17:50–18:35 Marina and the Diamonds 16:35–17:20 Jack Savoretti 15:20–16:05 The Coronas 14:20–14:55 Stevie McCrorie 13:15–13:50 | Above & Beyond 21:35–22:50 Clean Bandit 20:00–21:00 Oliver Heldens 18:30–19:30 Modest Mouse 17:10–18:00 Everything Everything 15:55–16:40 Admiral Fallow 14:50–15:25 Saint Raymond 13:45–14:20 And So I Watch You from Afar 12:40–13:15 | |
| Slam Tent | |||
| Friday 10 July | Saturday 11 July | Sunday 12 July | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Klock 22:30–00:00 Adam Beyer B2B Joseph Capriati 21:00–22:30 Slam 19:30–21:00 Eats Everything 18:00–19:30 Âme 16:30–18:00 Telford 15:30–16:30 | Maceo Plex 23:30–01:00 Røhåd 22:10–23:30 Jackmaster B2B Joy Orbison 20:40–22:10 Gary Beck 19:20–20:40 Annie Mac 18:00–19:20 Lil Louis 16:30–18:00 Art Department 15:00–16:30 Visionquest 13:30–15:00 | Loco Dice 21:00–23:00 Dubfire 19:45–21:00 Dixon 18:30–19:45 Maya Jane Coles 17:15–18:30 Claude VonStroke 16:00–17:15 Surgeon & Lady Starlight 14:45–16:00 Alan Fitzpatrick 13:15–14:45 Dense & Pika 12:00–13:15 | |
| T-Break Stage | |||
| Friday 10 July | Saturday 11 July | Sunday 12 July | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SchnarffSchnarff' Dead Man Fall Kitty, Daisy & Lewis Lonely the Brave Grant Nicholas Rae Morris Indiana DIVIDES Apache Darling | Ded Rabbit Other Humans Our Future Glory George the Poet Sunset Sons Vaults Elle King Gavin James Bry Tijuana Bibles Catholic Action AmatrArt | The Claramassa Spring Break Crash Club Walking on Cars Young Guns Benjamin Booker Black Rivers Gerry Cinnamon The Van T's Be Charlotte | |
| BBC Introducing Stage | |||
| Friday 10 July | Saturday 11 July | Sunday 12 July | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hector Bizerk Model Aeroplanes The Beach The Hearts Fort Hope Coasts The Riptide Movement Blossoms The Beaches | Neon Waltz Vukovi Dead Ceremony RedFaces Yr Eira Pinact Clubs Peur Stillhound | The Xcerts Dive In Cassels Miaoux Miaoux Sykes Man of Moon Monogram Love Nor Money Bdy_Prts Tongues | |
On 11 July 2015, a 36-year-old man died at the festival, with his body discovered in toilets. A T in the Park spokesman said: "We are extremely saddened by this news, and our thoughts are with the family at this time." He said the organisers were helping police with their inquiries. The Police treated his death as unexplained but not suspicious.[22] [23]
The number of arrests reduced to 44, which was significantly less than 2013 where there was 91 arrests, while the number incidents dealt with the Scottish Ambulance Service were also down to 606 compared with 858 in 2014.[24]
On Saturday night, the traffic situation ended in chaos, with claims of up to five hour delays, which were partly blamed on the wet conditions which resulted in tractors hauling hundreds of vehicles onto the exit road.[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] Organisers apologised throughout the weekend and well into Monday about the issues. The festival's director Geoff Ellis said: "A few things contributed to the delays. It's a brand new site and the weather wasn't kind to us on Saturday which led to a lot of people having to be towed from the west car park slowing us down because we don't have the benefit of 18 years of infrastructure that we did at Balado. We have continuously advised that there are no suitable pedestrian walkways in or out of the venue but over the last two nights, a high volume of people have done this anyway. This meant that the traffic coming in to the pick-up points could not access the event, causing tailbacks and increasing the numbers walking as they tried to meet their pick-ups further along the road."[30]
On Monday 13 July, MSP Liz Smith, for mid Scotland and Fife called for a major review of the event, stating it was "not unexpected" that there had been delays on the "narrow country roads". She went on to say "these are exactly the kind of issues which were flagged up months ago when many people warned of the unsuitability of the surrounding road system at Strathallan."[31] [32]