REVIEW: Poole Harbour Festival 2021

After over 18 months of lockdowns, limited socialising and the threat of summer festivals being cancelled, the Poole Harbour Festival was even more eagerly anticipated than ever - and we are still buzzing from it! Read our review of Poole's biggest festival of 2021 below.

After such a long break for the events industry and musicians, we were expecting some elements to be a little bit rusty, but I can honestly say that every single element was spot on. Except for a little bit of wind and rain but it's not a proper UK Festival experience without being up against the weather, right?

We received a warm welcome as soon as we arrived, and the entry process was really quick and straightforward. We went along with friends and our children so the kids couldn't get on the rides and bouncy castle slide quick enough - there was so much for them to see and do.

Apart from the rides, the entertainment was included in the entry fee and they loved The Amazing Dinosaur Show where they got to see life-like dinosaurs in a fun and informative show. There was also a Circus Skills area and Mad for Animals Show and the Kids Tent.

Then it was time for us Adults to have some fun - we headed to the main stage for Oasis Tribute Act who had all the swagger and musical talent of the real thing and their set included all of the Oasis classics including Some Might Say and Champagne Supernova which got the crowd really involved.

The smell of the food tents was too tempting so once the set had finished, we went to the food stalls for a mid-afternoon feast of fresh Calamari from Weymouth Seafood, Caribbean dishes, burgers and chips and sourdough pizzas.

Our friends had recently been to a food festival and said that surprisingly as not billed as a food festival, the mix of food stalls and the quality of the food was much better at Poole Harbour Fest - which does demonstrate how great these event organisers are - every single element had been well thought out and top quality. For ticket prices starting at £10 for an adult and £18 for a family, this was incredible value for money.

Once we'd satisfied our appetites we set up camp by the main stage. Dodgy and Toploader were fantastic and their vast experience of playing festivals was evident - they really got the crowd going and both noted that the atmosphere felt even more electric than usual after such a long time of being unable to perform live. 

And last but not least - the grand finale act was UK Queen. We thought they had to be pretty good for a tribute band to be the headline of the finale but their likeness to the real thing blew our socks off! We felt like we were being taken back to Queen Live at Wembley. 

From the minute they started their set got the crowd up and dancing, singing and getting involved with the crowd-pleasers like Radio Ga Ga, Another One Bites the Dust and Bohemian Rhapsody. It felt quite emotional seeing people coming together and sharing the electric atmosphere after so long.

I will be purchasing tickets for the organiser's other events today including Upton House Food and Drink Festival and for Poole Harbour Festival 2022 as soon as they go on sale.

Thank you to the organisers, acts and all involved for helping us create some unforgettable memories.