Latitude 2021: the long-awaited taste of freedom

There was a palpable feeling of freedom in Henham Park, Suffolk over the weekend – as masks disappeared and social distancing was replaced by dancing. For a blissful 72 hours, Covid was all but forgotten as Latitude became the first major festival to return in nearly two years.

And even if the cost of that freedom was £6.00 for a pint of not-quite-cold Carlsberg in a plastic cup, it still felt worth paying for this three day party in a field.

As Katherine Ryan put it: ‘I feel so free! The only way I could feel freer was if I was Britney Spears and I just heard my Dad had died.’

That sense of freedom may have been enhanced for some: the Saturday night headliners, The Chemical Brothers, appeared to have inspired some in the audience to reach for pharmaceutical assistance and the resulting dancing was quite lively.

Their thunderous sound and spectacular light show was the centrepiece of the weekend – anticipating the actual thunder and lightning that forecasters had predicted by several hours.