FESTIVALGOERS will be urged to ‘Sit Down’ as this year’s Camp Bestival as indie rockers James have been announced as the Friday night headliners.

The band, who had a massive hit with Sit Down, will be joining other stars including Laura Mvula, Boy George, Basement Jaxx, Johnny Marr and Sinead O’Connor.

The popular, family-orientated festival, which takes place at Lulworth Castle from July 31 to August 3, will also have a circus fancy dress theme and four days of fabulous music and DJ-ing, family fun, arts, crafts, literature, theatre and much, much more.

One of the highlights will be a celebration to mark 50 years since Roald Dahl wrote his best-loved tale Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

There will be a Charlie And The Chocolate Factory 50th Birthday Takeover on Saturday, with a whipple-scrumptious selection of exclusive treats, including a super pop-up exhibition, a Charlie Craftathon and lively storytelling sessions courtesy of the Roald Dahl Museum.

There’s also a Bedtime-Story special, with Jo Whiley, Howard Marks and our very own Rob da Bank reading the entire book over the three evenings of the festival.

And Lucy Mangan will be talking about her new book ‘Inside Charlie’s Chocolate Factory’. 

Camp Bestival ringmaster Rob da Bank said: “I know the Camp Bestival family have been on tenterhooks about our first announcement, and I always pay close attention to the Camp Besti forum and social media to see what people want.

“So I've followed orders and booked two of your most requested acts, and coincidentally, two of my favourite bands ever, James and Basement Jaxx. Two huge internationally renowned acts with massive back catalogues who are going to slay the crowd at Camp Bestival, topping a line-up boasting the best fun for kids, a brand new area for teens and so much more.
“We look forward to seeing you in July and August!”

Commenting on their headline slot, James’ guitarist-violinist-percussionist Saul Davies said: "We've not done Camp Bestival before, but it has a great reputation so we're well up for this show. I'm sure it will be one of the highlights of the summer for us.”

Also performing over the festival will be Johnny Marr, Sinéad O’Connor, Sophie Ellis Bextor, The Wedding Present, former Beta Band kingpin Steve Mason, Jamaica’s greatest band The Skatalites, bass hero Peter Hook & the Light, mythical funksters, los hermanos Cubanos, The Cuban Brothers and knees-up specialists Chas & Dave.

There will also be lots of Djs, including Rob de bank, Boy George with partner in crime & VG Records co-founder Marc Vedo, the incredible Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and lord of reggae David Rodigan MBE, who will present Ram Jam.

The team behind Horrible Histories will be back by extraordinarily popular demand performing their new show, Barmy Britain: Part II, a grisly spectacle reviving a whole host of ghastly characters.

Mr Tumble will also be back, clowning his way to the Castle Stage once again, causing unrivalled excitement among Camp Bestival’s discerning tots.

And in keeping with the Circus theme, there will also be a brand new venue - The Greatest Tent on Earth – which will host a festival’s-worth of jaw-dropping circus shows, astonishing extravaganzas, tremendous theatre performances and delightful characters galore.

For full details and tickets, go to campbestival.net