Heritagelive Omdömen 181

We travelled to see Stereophonics plus Jake Bugg and Blossoms.

The performances themselves were incredible but the whole event was so badly organised and chaotic that it put a downer on things.

They are very strict on no food or drink entering the venue. As you have to arrive very early to have any hope of getting parked up and finding a spot with any view of the stage in ample time and then expect to take over an hour+ at the end of the night to exit the car park, unless you want to go 8 hours plus without eating you are backed into a corner of having to purchase the extremely overpriced and average fast food at the venue (£15 for a tiny pizza, £6 for a small cone of chips). Since everybody else is in the same predicament there are huge queues to do so.
Queues were also a massive problem with drinks and toilets. Despite 35,000 people in attendance only 2 operating bars with MASSIVE queues going on for miles. We bought drinks once and didn’t bother again because we couldn’t face the line. Others we spoke to said the same thing.

There didn’t seem to be nearly enough toilets for the sheer volume of people either, again with massive queues! They were all disgusting and too full by the early evening.

The layout and positioning was odd as well. The stage was not visible in many areas due to the large bar/merch stands etc. Many people had to set up and view it on a screen. It also meant a very limited space for camping chairs available that actually had a view of the stage, thus hundreds of people setting up chairs in ‘undesignated’ areas.

The positioning of the main bar and toilets all within this area also meant it was extremely crowded and cramped.

Despite the lack of bars, lack of toilets and tight space in the ‘arena’ there was a whole FAIRGROUND on site taking up space??

Overall it was really disappointing to spend big money on a ticket and parking only to endure queuing queuing queuing (and missing a lot of the acts because of this) and more money-grabbing in the venue.

It’s a shame because the surroundings are lovely but we won’t be returning to any heritage live events.

Sandringham Heritage Live - Stereophonics and Blossoms were amazing. Sad to miss Jake Bugg. The performers were fantastic but the management and organisers need to rethink. Traffic management non-existent, crazy entry and exit to site. A 45 minute journey took us 4 and a half hours. Parking was chaotic and the few marshals that were there didn’t seem to know where to park people. Chaos! Only 6 toilets in the parking area, so long queues of people desperately needing the loo resulting in people peeing behind trees and in the long grass! Was a lack of toilets in the concert area too and few water points. Food and drink options were poor and expensive, drinks ridiculously priced too. Bins over flowing, rubbish heaped up. Worst site we’ve been to for management and set up. Such an amazing venue so could have been fantastic if organised hugely better

Just attended Stereophonics concert and the band, plus supporting acts were excellent. However, I would never attend a Heritage Live event at Sandringham again. The organization of the venue is atrocious. Huge fields of parking with no signage or zones meant many people struggled to even find their cars at the end, and that's before the horrendous experience of trying to actually get out. No staff and no signage meant it was a free for all with queues just forming anywhere, resulting in absolute gridlock. Clearly the company are not bothered as it appears this has been an issue at previous events and money spent on additional staff and proper exit routes could easily have prevented this. Inside the venue was also poor. The location of the stage meant views were poor from lots of areas with large trees and a central bar blocking site lines. Many peole just ended up sitting at the back and watching on screens with no view at all of the stage area. Simply moving the stage location could have improved this. Information sent before the event said picnic blankets and chairs could be taken in and used in specific areas. However, there was no signage for where and so people were basically putting them anywhere, resulting in moving around the site feeling unsafe with no clear routes. Toilets were also an issue which again could have been fixed with either signs, more staff directing crowds and fencing to guide people. Instead, queues just formed from all angles with no-one really knowing where they were supposed to join. Come on Heritage Live. You're getting great acts but people will stop coming if you don't improve the organization of things.

Stereophonics and blossoms brilliant as usual. Seen them both many times and at many venues, but this was by far the worst venue, with an average queue to get into car park because luckily for us we picked the right way in ... Then the queues for the bars were horrendous, I didn't even bother attempting to get a drink as I would estimate it would have taken over an hour...
We ended up standing at the very rear of the standing area with the seated area behind but because this area was jam packed people started bringing chairs Into the standing area only to be told halfway through the stereophonics set to take their chairs down...what a farce...these people had been sitting there no problem for a couple of hours before this...
Then the worst organised display I've ever witnessed...leaving the car park...in short... DONT EVER USE SANDRINGHAM AS VENUE AGAIN!!!
It just doesn't work

Great line up, and Jake Bugg, The Blossoms and Stereophonics were all amazing. However the venue is not great, we were told there was 30,000 people there and the queues for the bar, food and the toilets were the worst I have ever seen. There were men urinating all around the fences due to this.
The view of the stage was blocked in places due to trees and the bar, which was not in the best place.
It took us a while to get into the car park but we got there early as were glamping so didn't miss anything, and leaving at 9am this morning we got out easily.
I enjoyed the music but I don't think I would go to another gig here as they are not equipped to deal with the large number of people they let in.

Went on the Saturday. Stereophonics brilliant but the 4 of us who went said we will never go again to a concert at Sandringham
In short.. the stage is completely in the wrong place .. viewed obscured by trees which meant those with chairs having to watch from screens placed around the site. Secondly massive queues for the bars and toilets and finally trying to get out the car park an absolute joke at the end ..
The organisers should be ashamed and embarrassed

Much like many others have written, the performers were excellent couldn't fault them.
It's a shame that's where the good stuff ends. This was genuinely one of the worst festival experiences of my life, the queues for absolutely everything we're outrageous. Men were urinating everywhere by about 6pm because the queues for the toilets were huge. The bars were completely overrun from 5:15pm onwards, spent over an hour waiting to get two pints.
Getting into and out of the venue was where it really fell apart. It took 3 hours to get back to Norwich, we were completely unable to get out of the venue. I took the coach and really did not have a good experience.
Will not be going to this festival again.

An absolute joke, bordering on dangerous festival. Also, they've blocked me on Instagram for commenting the below feedback!

We went to see Mariah at Sandringham on Friday. Mariah was amazing but the whole experience was ruined by poor organisation.

It took us almost 3 hours to get out of the car park! There were hundreds of cars, no cones, so a free for all of everyone trying to get into one tiny exit. Arguments breaking out and people going bumper to bumper.

Inside the venue, people had set up chairs and blankets right near the front of the stage, taking up so much space. A fight broke out behind us about it and security did absolutely nothing. It clearly said no chairs at the front but nothing was done.

At the end of the night, literally thousands of people pushing to one exit. People were even pushing through the disabled area. So dangerous.

Security barely looked inside our bags on arrival. Not great and unsafe for all!!

Food was also terrible. Over £10 for a cold burger.

Heritage live really should be ashamed. All avoidable by choosing an appropriate venue and staffing it correctly.

Let’s get the positives out of the way… the performances from Jake Bugg, Blossoms, and Stereophonics were fantastic.

Now all the negatives… The queues to get into the car parking were some of the worst we have experienced. Around 4 miles long.

Once we had arrived you quickly realised that there were far too many people for the space. You spent most of your time queuing, whether that was for toilets, food, or drinks. Just getting around the site was extremely difficult.

I would say the overcrowding boarded on the dangerous. We witnessed the huge amount of difficulty it took for people to get around in wheelchairs and with buggies. It was horrendous.

I would highlight that the security personnel seemed to be trying their best to stop people misbehaving and people going to the toilet everywhere (literally everywhere you looked). They were friendly and seemed to be working hard. I think they had an uphill battle considering the festival was so poorly designed.

The exit was when it really got bad. Tens of thousands of people headed towards the only exit. However, someone had put a huge LED sign up that flashed an arrow saying ‘blue and yellow car park’ back the way everyone was coming from (towards the stage). This meant that people were heading back towards the thousands of people exiting. This caused absolute carnage. I can’t tell you how dangerous this situation could have become! The parking was all out the same exit in the end and they had someone standing on the sign saying it was wrong.

This has to be the worst organised festival and/or event I have been to. I would say this is an accident waiting to happen. I hope they have good insurance and lawyers if they continue to run events in this way.

Gosh I wish I had read the reviews before!!!!
Won't make that mistake again!
Dangerous no crowd control
People cramped like sardines and any emergency you would have not had a chance!
The walk way to the gold circle was blocked and the exit also. It was mayhem and chaos!
Will never go to a heritage live again!
Toilets also bad sort it out!

The acts especially the Stereophonics were excellent.
The journey to the event took 3 hours which should have been an hours trip.
Parking was satisfactory as was entry.
The reliance on using the catering was also very poor. The drinks queue was ridiculous.
Despite the enjoyment of the music, i am reluctant to go to this festival again.

Stereophonics and Blossoms: really brilliant. The sound was really great. However, the location and organisation are awful - really truly awful. The prices are massively inflated, it took an additional 2 hours to get in, and 2.5 hours to get out on top of the journey time. Avoid at all costs: you will be disappointed.

Heritage Live - Thurs 14th & Fri 15th August.
I’m not sure the difference in how many tickets were sold on Thurs (PSB’s) versus Fri (Mariah) but what a contrast in experience. Thurs was amazing, no queues for toilets, minimal for food and all areas felt safe even towards the front. Fantastic crowd of people too.
♥️ PSB’s ♥️ were INCREDIBLE however the Scissors Sisters (although music was brilliant) were completely inappropriate for a family advertised festival. My teenage daughter and friend were completely horrified. Seeing an old woman flashing her thong and another singer lifting her bra and simulate sex acts on stage was not what we expected, this totally distracted from the excellent music.
Friday was a truly HORRIBLE and TERRIFYING experience. We arrived at 3pm and the place was rammed even then. We had ‘gold circle’ tickets which should have really been ‘Red risk your life circle’.
Chic were incredible and Nile really got the crowd going. We saw a group enter the gold circle with a HUGE SUITCASE and several TROLLEYS which they proceeded to sit on when it stated no chairs allowed!!! How were they allowed in when it clearly stated an ‘A3 SIZE BACKPACK’?!! . I didn’t even pack snacks!

We tried to leave to visit toilets before headlining act Mariah and had to literally push our way out as staff had moved barriers that provided a clear wide walkway into a tight BOTTLE NECK of which hundreds of people were trying to squeeze out. I saw parents with small children looking terrified and it took 15 mins just to leave the gold area. I then queued for 45 MINS!!! Plus toilets were right at the back. Toilets had no water only hand sanitizer (usually there’s a tiny pump sink) so felt disgusting. Just got back to see start of Mariah and really panicked as couldn’t find my daughter as too many people had surged forward. No separation from gold circle and crowds literally moving barriers. No staff to be seen and so many people squashed together. A man was yelling ‘People are going to die here, they’re getting squashed!’ .
I eventually re-united with my daughter and friend but was so shook up I couldn’t concentrate for worrying how we would get out. I didn’t want to spoil their first festival experience but told them we were leaving 1/2 hr before she finished and they agreed. Shame to miss 6 songs but it took us about 20mins just to push through and exit gold area. No markings of an exit anywhere and so disorienting as by now it was dark, if anyone needed medical assistance they would have no chance. No stewards to be seen inside the gold circle and felt it was a total free for all. Many people were either drunk or smoking weed, some acting totally inappropriately infront or younger children and other people looking visibly panicked. If this was happening inside an arena many of these people would have been removed so as not to spoil it for others. A CLEAR maintained opening is required if any crowd area is to be separated at all times. Staff were completely overwhelmed and this must have been terrifying for them too. It’s not rocket science even basics of light sticks required to guide people to an exit that is not clearly visible - you cannot have 30k crowd of people (many of which were drunk) with no crowd control. I heard some people bought gold and didn’t even try to enter the area (which was absolute carnage) is just unacceptable. If we ever attend a Heritage Live festival again we would never put our lives at risk and purchase a seemingly segregated area and just purchase a normal ticket so we can judge and be in control of the space around us and be mindful of our nearest exit should we need it. We witnessed many aggressive people which spoiled the whole event especially as we were packed in like sardines.

On a positive note the parks were fine, very near with lots of staff directing. Well organised, well lit too, we left 30 mins early (along with many other people too) and had no problem getting out at all. There were north and south exits all clearly marked. You can’t expect to leave an event with the bulk of 30k people and get out quickly.

A safety investigation needs to be conducted regarding the staffing and sectioning area of the gold circle - charging £50 to risk your life is insane. I’m furious I paid more to actually risk my daughter’s safety!! She just wanted to see Mariah . This is the single most terrifying experience I have had at an event and I would love to know why a man with a HUGE SUITCASE was allowed even inside let alone infront of the stage area. I think organisers should have at least allowed you to bring your own food in as we had a couple of picky eaters and not fantastic food choices. Drinks prices were ok - Aperol Spritz £12, Piper-Heideseic Champagne £55 btl, £7 pint. Wish we hadn’t attended Friday although Mariah was amazing as were her band and dancers!!!!!

Very badly organised music event at Sandringham although Stereophonics, Jake Bugg and Blossoms excelled.
Really bad set up, too many camping chairs and toilets and water in a really bad place causing a gridlock between the stage and the food because of non moving toilet queues and so many camping chairs it may as well have been a sit down event. Food extortionate, toilets gross by 4pm. Then theres the completely unguided carpark at exit allowing multiple queues to form and taking an hour and a half to exit with the only guidance at the gate,Also a car park sign flashing arrows in the wrong direction so people were turning back. Why wouldnt you just turn it off rather than have a member of staff trying to make her voice heard saying it was wrong? I wont be attending a heritage event here ever again

Couldn’t have asked more from the performers -stereophonics and blossoms but completely missed Jake bugg who must have only been on for half an hour as arrived at 5:30pm due to the volume of traffic and atrocious organisation of getting in and out of the car park! (Non existent at the end)
Only live 30 mins away and took 2 hrs to get there.
queues were atleast 20 people+ deep for absolutely everything and the prices for food was a joke (£14 for loaded chips) (£40 for a pitcher of Pimm’s) which was double then gigs I’ve been to in London and probably would have been quicker to go to!

We went to see Stereophonics last night at Sandringham Live, but left half an hour before the end as we didn't want to get stuck in the tens of thousands leaving at the end. I wonder how many were there, I guess it wasn't limited.

Stereophonics were brilliant, as always, they were the only good thing about the day.

Food was the worst I had eaten, so expensive too, and we're not allowed to take our own as we were at Audley End Live.

The queue for overpriced warm drinks was outrageous. Those who had chairs were limited to areas and ended up backing onto noisy fairground rides - Heritage, I think not, just more money making!

The toilets were the worst ever, despite have urinals for men they were still peeing up fences and using cubicles so I had to clean pee off the seat before I could use it. This was at 7pm, the loos were already blocked!! I've seen better toilet facilities in small town events and festivals with far less people.

Tickets were obviously oversold.

Had I looked at reviews before I wouldn't have bothered going.

Heritage live in previous reviews thank you for the feedback and will consult - obviously nothing happens.

I would NEVER EVER attend an event or concert organised by Heritage Live or any held at Sandringham Estate again! Went to see Mariah Carey yesterday, 15th August.

The good stuff: Great to see Mariah Carey, who sang well and looked great. Nile Rodgers & Chic really got the crowd going an hour before and his singers were amazing! VIP WCs were clean throughout and pleasant to use. The Norfolk Hampers were of good quality I'd definitely buy DIRECT from them as well as book a tour of Sandringham estate DIRECT as the little we saw of the gardens on the way to pick the hampers looked great. Avoid Heritage Live to organise any of the above or event, honestly associating them in any way to Mariah, Norfolk Hampers and HRH is ...I reserve my comment but they ought to be greatly ashamed.

Onto the very bad:
No clear signage entering the estate and nothing to point to VIP parking section (never knew it even existed till we got in), nobody asks you anything of the sort. Only instructed to red gate standard parking after staff looked at the car pass. Nothing wrong with it but if you've paid for VIP parking you should get it and be met at a certain standard from start to finish. Worked out in the end for us as later staff told us not to move the car to VIP parking because they shut off the access gate through the gardens and that meant we'd avoid walking all the way round at the end of the event.

Gold VIP was under whelming and day light robbery for what was delivered. Two tickets purchased Golden Circle each £135 plus £405 each for "Gold VIP" and bought parking pass £12.50 so just shy of £1100 in total. Gold was advertised convincingly including that there'd be a great view of the stage from VIP...this was not true and only if you'd stand for hours in the Golden Circle where you'd lose you space if you needed the VIP toilets.

The stage was NOWHERE NEAR VIP SECTION AND THE VIEW WAS ABYSMAL! There was a seating area at the back of VIP, that you'd need binoculars to view the stage. VIP didn't even have its own big screen to view the stage, appalling. The other area with the wicker like seating you could just about see the screen located beside the stage. The other faux grass covered seats were angled a little better to see the screen and popular choice for first come first served. The street artists were very talented but it was so jarring and disjointed to have music blasting from the stage and have them singing and playing live instruments at the same time during intervals of waiting. Truly bizarre for the audio senses, poorly organised.

Food and drink stalls were extortionate as expected, glad we took insulated bottle prefilled with ice and refilled at the free water stations. The hamper was filled to the brim so we were pretty full and still didn't manage to finish half it.

The collection of the Northfolk hamper was dreadful, told to go here and there with no clear signage (do you sense a pattern, hint parking fiasco) and no guide or help in the sweltering sun. Kindly another pair, mother and son volunteered to show us as they couldn't finish the hamper and didn't not want to litter the garden as no bins or instructions on what to do with the box.
After being embarrassed and made to feel like a lying beggar (was never sent dietry choice email to get a collection reference) thankfully the hamper reps gave us the
hampers we'd paid for. There clearly were many others an A4 page full of people in the same boat who had to write their lastnames due to not having references.
We were never sent the Sandringham house tour booking slot either so we never had one and after the hamper embarrassing fiasco it was all too much to go through again.

As the sun went down and it got much cooler VIP didn't even have fancy outdoor heating or blankets to continue enjoying the evening. No Mariah Carey merchandise and no stall to buy from. We got nothing to mark the event, just the wrist bands, oh joy! WiFi would have been great too and charging banks. Heritage Live have a skewed view of what VIP means and I doubt know what it means. It was not planned nor executed well, very amateur. You'd expect a high standard since they organising an event with a megastar's name to attract the crowd whilst operating on HRH's land! They relied too heavily on the Sandringham Estate and hamper to set the Gold ticket holders apart from Bronze and Silver, not worth it in that respect.

I'll be making a complaint.

Edited for typos.

Terrible. What a waste of money. Bought chairs to take in but tile we couldn’t sit on them only in certain places which is fine but please put signs up. Security too bothered about our chairs but seems it was ok for some people to piss where they wanted to and smoke weed. Suggest they get priorities right. Parking terrible. Left before main act because I knew it would take 4 hours to get home.
Only give 1 star because zero wasn’t an option

Access & egress abysmal, too many people, no clear signage. They invite people to bring chairs then heavy handedly prevent people sitting on them whilst ignoring people (men) openly pissing in a public area. Best avoided

What utter poor organisation. Entry gates opened late, stage location meant viewing the acts live was virtually impossible. Food and drink prices were ridiculous. Acts were neither introduced nor informed the the next artists would be in 45 minutes or more!! The only thing that the management was bothered about is MONEY. Never again to one of their gigs !!