Download Festival 2023: here’s the weather forecast for this weekend

Download Festival week is finally here, with ten of thousands of fans set to descend upon the hallowed grounds of Donington Park for a supersized edition of the annual rock and metal party. This year, the festival is taking place over four days for its 20th anniversary and will be headlined by Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, the latter playing two unique headline sets across the weekend.

As one of the earliest events in the festival season calendar, the weather at Download is famously variable – its 2016 edition was infamously nicknamed ‘Drownload’ thanks to its torrential rain. We’ve got a run-down of how the weather in Castle Donington looks for the weekend (via MetOffice) , and from the looks of things currently, you’re definitely going to want to bring the suncream…

Wednesday

Any eager beavers rocking up to Download a day early needn’t worry about overheating in their cars as they queue to get in the campsite. Wednesday morning will be overcast, but the afternoon will bring sunny spells and highs of 17 degrees in the late afternoon. The evening is set to be comfortably cool, with the temperature dipping to 11 degrees by the late hours.

Thursday

Thursday is also set to be pleasant by the time the rest of the festivalgoers set up camp. Once again, an overcast morning will turn to a sunny afternoon, with highs of 17 degrees by the time main stage opener Mammoth WVH are playing their final riffs. The temperature will reach lows of 11 degrees by the time Metallica are scheduled to play the first of two their headline shows just before 9pm, meaning you can probably leave your thickest hoodie in your tent.

Friday

The second day of Download is looking a bit warmer, with the mercury hitting the high teens by the time the first bands take to the stage. The temperature will peak at 19 degrees when Neck Deep hit the stage in the the late afternoon – not just good ice cream weather, but good pop-punk show weather, if you ask us. Later on, the heat will cool to 12 degrees by the time Bring Me The Horizon kick off their debut Download headline show. Don’t forget your suncream or antihistamines though – the UV index looks like it’ll be very high, while the pollen count will also be going up today.

Saturday

After a cloudy morning, Saturday is set to be warmer still, with the temperature expected to creep into the low twenties for much of Download’s third day. The sun will be shining for most of the day, with highs of a balmy 22 degrees expected by the time Clutch are wrapping up their set. The evening is also set to be a bit warmer for Metallica’s second headline show of the weekend, with the mercury only due to fall to around 16 degrees as the sky gets darker. As far as festival weather goes, the conditions look pretty ideal.

Sunday

The good news is, if the current forecast proves correct, it looks like we’ll make it through Download without a drop of rain. Indeed, Sunday might be the hottest day Download’s seen for a while – fans planning on watching Behemoth or Avatar in the late afternoon will be basking in highs of 23 degrees. However, other forecasters have predicted it could be even warmer, with BBC Weather suggesting temperatures could peak at a rather goth-unfriendly 25 degrees. The evening will be warm too, with the mercury hovering around the high teens by the time Slipknot arrive to cap off the festival. You might want to rethink wearing black…