Donington Park — Download Festival / Monsters of Rock

Donington Park in Leicestershire has been the spiritual home of British heavy metal and hard rock festivals since 1980, when the first Monsters of Rock festival was held on the grounds adjacent to the motor racing circuit. AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Metallica, and virtually every major metal act of the era played Donington through the 1980s and 1990s. The 1988 festival was marred by tragedy when two fans were crushed to death during Guns N' Roses' set, leading to significant changes in crowd safety at UK festivals.

The Monsters of Rock festival ran from 1980 to 1996, and the site was reborn as Download Festival in 2003. Download has since become the UK's largest rock and metal festival, regularly headlined by acts like Slipknot, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Foo Fighters. The festival's commitment to heavy music — in contrast to the broader lineups of Reading or Glastonbury — has made it a pilgrimage for metalheads worldwide.

Download Festival takes place annually in June on the parkland adjacent to Donington Park racing circuit, about 20 miles southwest of Nottingham. The site accommodates around 100,000 attendees across a long weekend of camping and music. Outside festival season, the area is used for motorsport events and is otherwise quiet farmland.