When Guns N’ Roses last played at Castle Donington’s race track 30 years ago, two fans died in the crush to see them. Back then, they were fifth from top bill on the main stage, but in the months since they’d turned into one of the world’s biggest rock band.
Much has changed at the festival, formerly known as Monsters of Rock and since rebranded as Download: sturdy crash barriers divide up the crowd to prevent such human tragedy happening again. There’s also the best disability provision of any weekender in the UK, with vast viewing platforms for wheelchair users, and “performance interpreters” for the hard of hearing, who enthusiastically air-guitar all day.
This year, Download has even “gone...