How Latitude became the home of family-friendly raving

As one of the few attendees not towing around children (many with the help of festival trolleys), I found myself more often dodging cartwheeling tweens than beer-soaked music lovers. Instead of the smoke flare haze that has become a frequent sight at British festivals, Latitude’s skies were dotted with a stream of bubbles. It made for a truly relaxing atmosphere, interspersed with cast-iron solid music acts and comedy performances.

Launching the festival on Friday, the British electronic duo Maribou State opened the main stage, blessed by one of the rare sunny spells of the weekend. Their soulful tracks, paired with Talulah Ruby floaty vocals, suited the golden light. The maximalist chaos of Basement Jaxx’s club anthems segued into Sting’s mellow croon, with the 73-year-old swanning around the stage sporting a Britney-style headset mic, blending his solo hits (Fields of Gold/Englishman in New York) with the Police classics (Every Breath You Take/Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic). While the middle section lost momentum with languid reggae rhythms and extended guitar solos, the set was revived by a glorious encore of Roxanne.

Dependable crowdpleasers carried festivalgoers through a drenched Saturday: Kaiser Chiefs with their mid-00s hits Ruby and I Predict a Riot, as well as a well-received cover of the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop; Fatboy Slim with a set of singalong staples (Under Pressure, Wonderwall, September) and old faithfuls (The Rockafeller Skank, Right Here, Right Now) – although a mashup of Underworld’s house classic Born Slippy and the Killers’ Mr Brightside felt dangerously close to musical heresy. He won the loudest cheer of the weekend by displaying images of the England women’s squad during Praise You, ahead of the Euros final.

And the festival came into its own on Sunday, thanks to a last-minute match viewing setup, which was clearly communicated by organisers via the festival app and social media. When Chloe Kelly scored the game’s winning penalty, the whole festival roared.

The excitement carried over into the weekend’s final performances from the electronic duo Air and the Brighton-based riot grrrl band Lambrini Girls, who offered wildly different but equally compelling closing sets. Air mesmerised with tracks such as Moon Safari and Sexy Boy, while Lambrini Girls – slotted against headliners Snow Patrol – unleashed a politically charged, gloriously chaotic performance. “If you don’t agree with us,” frontwoman Phoebe Lunny quipped, “go watch the straight white men.” Their crowd, by far the rowdiest, was asked to participate in one of a choice of three options: a mass enema, a human pyramid, or the biggest mosh pit Latitude’s ever seen. Thankfully they went with the latter.

Latitude provided a masterclass in how to run a festival that’s joyful, inclusive and multigenerational. Perhaps nothing summed it up better than the conversation overheard as we trudged through the campsite to leave: two eight-year-old girls debating whether it was better than Glastonbury. The verdict? Glasto was bigger, but Latitude was more fun.

Photograph by Robin Little/Redferns