Residents living near the Download site at Donington are complaining that the world's biggest rock festival is too noisy

(Image credit: Jo Hale/Redferns)

Derbyshire Police have confirmed that they have received complaints about noise at Download festival.

No, really.

The 20th anniversary staging of the UK's biggest rock and metal festival kicked off yesterday, June 8, with opening night headliners Metallica, Alter Bridge, Halestorm, Skindred and more delighting tens of thousands of fans gathered at Donington Park.

It appears, however, that not everyone in the vicinity of the iconic East Midlands site, which has been hosting annual metal festivals more often that not since 1980, with the Monsters Of Rock festival preceding Download, was quite so thrilled. In fact, a spokesperson for the local police told the BBC that it had taken "a number" of calls registering annoyance with the loud noises seemingly originating at the festival. And this with three more days of the expanded Download 2023 yet to come...

The BBC reports that the music was heard almost 15 miles (24km) away in Heage, 12 miles (19km) away in Hilton and 10 miles (16km) away in Mackworth.

The national broadcaster also reports that not everyone has been entirely sympathetic to the heartbreaking, unimaginable distress suffered by the NIMBY kill-joys.

A posting on the Spotted Long Eaton Facebook page reading 'This is ridiculous, DOWNLOAD festival is 6 miles away and the thudding is unreal and still a working day tomorrow' was met with a response saying 'Imagine living close by to a race track and an airport but crying into your cereal about a bit of music.'

Never change England, never change.

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