Oxegen 2008
| Oxegen 2008 | |
|---|---|
The Verve headlining Oxegen '08 | |
| Genre | |
| Dates | 11 – 13 July 2008 |
| Location(s) | Punchestown Racecourse, County Kildare, Ireland |
| Previous event | Oxegen 2007 |
| Next event | Oxegen 2009 |
| Website | oxegen |
Oxegen '08 was the fifth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 11 July, Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. For the first time the festival was a three-day event.
The festival was headlined by Kings of Leon on the Friday, The Verve and R.E.M. on the Saturday and Rage Against the Machine on the Sunday. The festival featured a lineup of over 250 acts across multiple stages, attracting approximately 80,000 attendees. Amy Winehouse performed for 70 minutes despite a recent 14-day stay in hospital and performed hits like Back to Black and Rehab, although her performance was widely debated. Rage Against the Machine concluded the festival, fighting through sound issues during their set.
The festival incorporated environmental initiatives, introducing reusable eco-cups and aiming for carbon neutrality in collaboration with The Carbon Neutral Company. However, the event also faced challenges, including a significant undercover drug operation resulting in numerous arrests and an incident involving a bus fire en route to the festival. Despite these issues, Oxegen 2008 earned accolades such as the Best European Festival at the UK Festival Awards