Benicassim Festival 2015

The Festival Internacional de Benicassim, or FIB as it is known, has been running every summer since 1995 on Spain’s Costa del Azahar.

In 2015, the festival ran July 16–19, and featured Blur, The Prodigy and Florence and The Machine among the headliners. As one of the biggest festivals in Europe, Benicassim has no trouble attracting big name headliners from both rock and electronic music, and this pulling power ensures a wide variety of musical styles can be heard.

The venue itself is situated on the coast between Barcelona and Valencia, and temperatures regularly rise to more than 30 degrees Celsius during the summer. With that in mind, musicians play later in the day than at most festivals, with acts programmed from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. While that policy means you won’t be watching your favorite band in the heat of the day, it also means party animals that make it all the way through to 8 a.m. have to snatch what little sleep they can before the sun comes up.

Most people camp next to the arena, and the best organized will arrive early to bag a shady spot. Even at 8 a.m., the Spanish sun quickly turns most standard tents into a furnace and it’s worth coming prepared if you value your sleep. Cool off by making the trip down to one of the nearby beaches and splashing around in the waves before exploring the multiple different stages. Benicassim has something to offer fans of many different musical styles, and the setting makes for a spectacular experience.

Tag on a few days in Barcelona or Valencia to make the most of your time in the region.