Nearly half of Download 2025 ticket holders are going for the first time

Almost half of ticket holders for Download 2025 are going for the first time, according to data from Ticketmaster.

• READ MORE: Download boss Andy Copping on the 2025 line-up: “The festival will die if we don’t move with the times”

The ticketing giant confirmed that 44 per cent of those who have bought tickets for the Donington Park festival so far are first-timers, creating an almost even split between newcomers and more seasoned Download fans.

This will be seen as a win amid Download’s efforts to bring in more modern headliners. In November, when the first acts for 2025 were announced, boss Andy Copping told NME that “the festival will die if we don’t move with the times”.

“The festival has to evolve because people’s tastes and people’s expectations evolve all the time. The festival will die if we don’t move with the times, so we have to be innovative. We have to see what’s going on across social media and analyse the way people are consuming music in the TikTok age,” Copping said.

“All of that is super important. Luckily, we’ve put together a very wide and varied young team who are giving input into what they feel the festival should be. We also talk to the fans all the time and ask them what they want to see. We seek out feedback on what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. From that, we’ve found a formula that’s been working for us.”

This year’s Download Festival boasts three first-time headliners: Green Day, KoRn and Sleep Token, the latter of whom is playing their first ever major festival headline show.

“I think it’s important for the festival to bring new bands through to headline. Back in the day, I did it with Slipknot. I did it with Avenged Sevenfold and Biffy Clyro. In 2023 we did it with Bring Me The Horizon. Now, every one of those bands across the world is perceived as a festival headliner,” said Copping.

“That’s what I felt this time with Sleep Token. It feels like we’re the first major festival that’s taken the bull by the horns and gone, ‘OK, it’s time. Its Sleep Token’s moment’. I know it’s going to be amazing for them, amazing for the festival and amazing for the fans.”

Also set to play are Weezer, Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Jimmy Eat World, Poppy, McFly, The Darkness, Spiritbox, Meshuggah, Steel Panther, Cradle Of Filth, Alien Ant Farm and many more

Download Festival 2025 will return to Donington Park between June 13 and 15. Visit here for tickets and more information.

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