Godiva Festival 2008 (Saturday)

Six. by Seven -Electric Stage Godiva 2008

The new Godiva Festival layout is brilliant, having an open air stage makes perfect sense. Far more people can enjoy the performances without being crushed into a tent. After eating lunch in the food village and buying some clothing we settled down infront of the ‘electric stage’ to watch Exit calm. Drinking a pint of lager during the afternoon relaxing in the sun infront of the main stage watching the bands was great. A few heavy showers did interrupt the fun, but, the festival dried out inbetween. Unfortunately, the evening bought persistant rain. This coupled with inadequate clothing & a cold wind saw our early exit after catching Glasvegas. Is this really July!!!

I hope the weather will not deter organisers from having a stage again as it felt like Godiva had embrassed the true festival vibe. Not being crammed into a small tent also made the festival more child-friendly again.

Shame about the weather but a fantastic 10th Godiva in my opinion.

We enjoyed Exit Calm, Pint Shot Riot, Six by Seven, The Displacements, Glasvegas.

The Enemy headlining Godiva Festival 2008

The Enemy are going to headline this years Godiva Festival at Coventry's Memorial Park on  Saturday (5th July). Nothing appears yet on the official Godiva Festival website but it has been announced in an article in the local Coventry press and also in an interview with the band in Feel Alive magazine.

Bomb in the city

The bomb squad (not a job I'd enjoy) are on their way to Coventry city centre as an unexploded WWII bomb has been unearthed in the centre this morning during the construction that is currently being undertaken on the new Belgrade Plaza site. This isn't much of a shock when you consider the amount of bombs dropped on Coventry during the blitz. Shoppers and local employees have been evacuated from the vicinity. Upper Well Street and Radford Road are closed to traffic and Junctions 1 and 8 on the ring road are shut. This has meant my wife has spent some of her working day in Starbucks. Unfortunately her car is trapped in the danger area, hopefully we can retrieve it later. I'm also hoping the ring road is open when I head towards home.

MP3: The Bomb Inside The Bomb - We are Scientists 
Last FM | Buy | Wikipedia

Just up the road from the city centre is the Memorial Park. It will, again, be the venue for the  Godiva Festival 2008. This will be held over the weekend of 4th - 6th July. This will be the 11th festival.

Save Godiva Festival

This debate and threat seems to come back every year. Let's hope the council see the good for the community that the festival brings. People getting out and meeting each other, coming to our city - that sort of thing. Coventry should be proud of Godiva Festival not shun it!

Coventry's Memorial Park has become a focal point in our city for cultural festivals and events. The Godiva Festival, in particular, regularly attracts more than 60,000 visitors each year, making a valuable contribution both to our local economy and the vibrancy of our city. Residents of the Memorial Park's local vicinity have long campaigned for this small number of festivals to be stopped, claiming 'noise and nuisance' as their reasons. We do not agree that the events held at The Memorial Park cause any undue or additional noise or nuisance to the local residents on the very few days each year they are held. Furthermore, we believe that Coventry's Memorial Park exists for the use of ALL of the people of Coventry. The Godiva Festival is a highlight in the city's cultural calendar, whose benefits to the wider population of the city far outweigh the somewhat questionable case of a very small minority. As such, festivals and events like The Godiva Festival should be protected and continue unhindered and unrestricted.

ref: here

Sign the petition here

PS: Spread the word

Away from Here - The Enemy (Godiva Festival 2007)

The 10th Godiva Festival.

We had a lovely afternoon yesterday mingling with the revellers at The Godiva Festival. The weather had been kind on this second day of the festival. Arriving in a car meant a 20min queue in traffic but the car parking was plenty adequate. We got to the 'electric tent' in time to see The Noisettes, The Cribs and then a blinding hometown gig by The Enemy, for which the crowd decended in droves. The sides of the tent this year had been removed to provide a view for more people than managed to squish into the main arena. This was the busiest I have seen the Godiva Festival and the atmosphere was generally very friendly if not a little tipsy. The bar was good if not a little soggy underfoot and there was plenty of choice of grub. Caulk this up as another successful Godiva festival.

Mikey b37's Godiva photo album - a great collection of photos here including one of the lad who hung upside down from the tent during the enemy set. Remember him?