Stradbally’s Electric Picnic ranks high among Ireland's festivals in new research
Image for illustration purposes
TELECOMMUNICATIONS and media provider Virgin Media Ireland has conducted new research to find the Irish music festival that best “captures the moment.”
The media group scored 20 Irish festivals out of 100 across five key metrics that measured the light, the scenery, the summer weather, the social media buzz and the mobile coverage that lets attendees share in real time.
One of the metrics used was the shot conditions score, which blends the golden hour light at each festival with how photogenic its setting is, from coastlines and lakes to forest parks and historic estates.
The group then used Met Éireann's sunshine and rainfall averages for June to August, the buzz on Instagram and TikTok, and search interest on Google over the last twelve months using Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends.
The ‘Stay Connected’ score was based on mobile coverage, where Virgin Media Ireland used ComReg's national coverage map, and the exact location of each festival and rating its 4G and 5G signal against ComReg's own scale of very good, good, fair, fringe and no coverage.
Stradbally’s own Electric Picnic came second with an overall index score of 94.8 with a shot conditions score of 90 out of 100.
It was also the most talked-about festival of the summer by a distance, with over 102,000 Instagram posts and further 22,600 on TikTok, more than any other festival the media group researched.
The full list is available on the Virgin Media Ireland website. The top 5 five festivals are All Together Now (Co. Waterford), Electric Picnic (Co. Laois), Beyond the Pale (Co. Wicklow), Kaleidoscope (Co. Wicklow), Longitude (Co. Dublin).
Making up the rest of the top ten were Forbidden Fruit in Dublin in sixth, Night & Day at Lough Key Forest Park in Co. Roscommon in seventh, Open Ear on Sherkin Island in Co. Cork in eighth, When Next We Meet in Co. Tipperary in ninth, and Sea Sessions in Co. Donegal in tenth.
Speaking about the findings, Louise Zayed, head of press and publicity at Virgin Media Ireland, said: “Irish summers are made for festivals, and capturing and sharing the moment is a huge part of the fun these days. We wanted to celebrate the festivals that give you the perfect shot, from golden hour light to gorgeous settings, and to remind everyone that strong coverage is what lets you share it all as it happens.”
Electric Picnic takes place 28-30 August at Stradbally Estate.
