With the lights now switched off for the last time this year at Castle Donington, Download Festival is over for another year. This year saw temperatures reach almost 30 degrees for the entire duration of the festival with only the odd spot of rain for a change, at least until this morning when everyone decided to leave and the storms started.
Other than the weather Download, as always, has been an eventful weekend with Down playing a secret set and opening up Saturday's main stage, Korn's Jonathan Davis being hospitalised and unable to sing with his band (who found replacement vocalists for a short set), Soilwork not turning up and Devildriver playing a second set instead and Axl Rose having a tantrum and threatening to go home when some urine was thrown at him.
Despite the fact that Mr. Rose and his band of merry men managed to turn up on for once and even on time they ended Download 2006 to a rather depleated crowd who had taken it upon themselves too start fires throughout the arena. As this carried over to the campsites the inevitable started and within an hour of Guns n' Roses finishing their set plumes of smoke and explosions were pouring out of most campsites as fire upon fire spread throughout the campsites fueled by gas canisters and deodorant.
After resisting intervention by site security and police an investigation has now been launched. Superintendent Paul Smith, of the Leicestershire Constabulary's North Area, said: "Some people may have recorded events on their mobile phones and this evidence could prove vital to our investigation. Anyone who has footage or information is asked to get in touch with us." but also emphasised that the event as a whole had been relatively trouble-free all weekend. Download organisers are now looking at CCTV footage to ascertain the culprits.
Overall there are not thought to have been any serious injuries to any Downloaders last night and the event will continue to run as normal next year.
So... one year to go.