Camp Bestival Shropshire Announces Roaring ‘Wildlife’ Fancy Dress Theme and Line-up Additions

BBC Radio 2 DJ Sara Cox set to judge the Family Fancy Dress competition on Saturday 19th August, plus Junior Andre, CMAT and Leeroy Thornhill amongst new artists to join the second-ever Camp Bestival Shropshire.

After a bumper first year for Camp Bestival Shropshire, the stellar sister show to the UK's favourite family festival is returning to Weston Park this August (17 – 20 August 2023) with a host of more incredible acts, as well as a chance for festival go-ers to flex their creative muscles and knock on the doors of the animal kingdom, with an all-new Wildlife fancy dress theme for the weekend.

From badgers, owls, hedgehogs, all the way through to sheep and deer, Camp Bestival is letting campers go wild at Weston Park this summer with an all-out, inexhaustible fancy dress free-for-all across the entire weekend. After the success of last year’s fancy dress extravaganza, radio legend and long-time friend of the festival Sara Cox will be once again hosting and judging this year’s family fancy dress competition on Saturday 19th August.

Speaking on the Wildlife theme and Family Fancy Dress competition announcement, Camp Bestival royalty Sara Cox said: “Hello campers! I can’t believe it’s nearly time to be venturing out into the fields of Weston Park once more for Camp Bestival Shropshire… I’m beyond excited.

You’d better start planning your outfits because if this year’s Fancy Dress Saturday is anything like last time, then it’s going to be tough competition! You’re a brilliantly inventive bunch and I can’t wait to clap eyes on all your wild creations”

Camp Bestival curator’s Rob & Josie da Bank worked closely with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to finalise the Wildlife theme. The charity will also be an official partner for the 2023 edition of the festival.

Camp Bestival curator's Rob & Josie da Bank also said: "OK so we’ll be straight up. We weren’t sure if we were going to have a theme for dressing up at Camp Bestival Shropshire this year (as you all made such a brilliant effort and seemed to nail it in our first year!) but you spoke, and we listened! So many of you have been in touch asking what the theme is, so we had a think and chatted with our lovely friends over at WWF and can reveal that our theme for 2023 is….. WILDLIFE! Yes, that’s the animal kingdom covered and some great options for you to choose and get inspired from the millions of species on this planet!

"We want you to think laterally too and a bit off the beaten track, so think about being wild and living a wild-life or think about where else you might discover wildlife…or just come back to good old animals and birds. We love your adventurousness, ingenuity and creativity and can’t wait to see what you come up with!”

Louise Oakley, Director of Events and Community Fundraising at WWF said: “Across the world, and in the UK, nature is on its knees. Half of all UK native species are in decline, and population sizes of global wildlife have plummeted by 69% on average since 1970.

“But it isn’t too late to turn things around. With this year’s ‘Wildlife’ theme, WWF is delighted to be working with Camp Bestival to share our work with festival-goers and get vital support to bring our world back to life by protecting and restoring species and habitats for the benefit of future generations.”

Diverse mix of music

Keeping the diverse and eclectic vibe of Camp Bestival Shropshire alive for 2023, a wealth of music madness for the whole family has also been added to the line-up including a dreamy folk-pop set from Ireland's CMAT, a pop masterclass from 17-year-old sensation Junior Andre. Spinning up a storm on the 1's and 2's will be none other than turntable master DJ Yoda, Camp Bestival favourites Dub Pistols and legendary raver and ex-member of The Prodigy, Leeroy Thornhill will also make an appearance.

There is something for all festival goers to enjoy with a diverse mix of music ranging from UK hip hop via the legendary Rodney P, reggae, and dancehall bangers from Nature Daddy to 1990s rave classics from Rhythm Is The 90s. For the quintessential Camp Bestival experience, the undisputed champions of family-raving Big Fish Little Fish will have the whole family dancing whilst Rock School will be on hand to train the rock stars of the future!

Elsewhere on this year's bill, festival-goers can expect a thundering performance from 30-piece drum collective Drum Machine and a deep dive into rave heritage by Rinse FM's renowned DJ - Uncle Dugs. Camp Bestival Shropshire will also be hosting the likes of Austin Ventour, The Baghdaddies, What She Said, Grrrl Groan, Just A Couple of Mums, The Superskas, Tiny Leaves, Bobbins, Emma Linney Band, Tiny Leaves and Darren Davies.

Tapping into local talent from the West Midlands will be hip-hop rock crossover pioneers Pop Will Eat Itself. Electric Swing Circus will also be bringing their infamous hot-take style on 1920s swing, infused with electro beats.

These latest additions build on the already announced headliners Primal Scream, Rudimental and The Human League plus iconic acts Confidence Man, Melanie C, Sophie Ellis-Bextor as well as Sam Ryder and Ella Henderson. On top of this, Dick & Dom, Cosmic Kids Yoga, Junior Jungle and Mr Tumble will entertain families of all ages at the unmissable four-day celebration.