Some 80,000 music fans will tomorrow begin their pilgrimage to the sell-out Oxegen music festival which gets under way at Punchestown racecourse on Saturday. With the campsite due to open at midday tomorrow, elaborate plans surrounding the Kildare racecourse have been put in place to ease traffic congestion.
Over 200 acts including The Who, James Brown, Primal Scream, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and Bell X1 will perform over the two-day event and mark the start of a range of outdoor summer festivals.
Between 50,000 and 70,000 people are expected to attend the Smurfit European Open at the K-Club, in addition to the 80,000 concert-goers at Oxegen, and AA Roadwatch has predicted there will be no such thing as a "quiet road" this weekend.
Visitors from the west are warned of disruption on the N6 on Saturday, while major road closures and traffic restrictions will be in place around Athlone to facilitate the largest triathlon held outside Dublin.
An addition to the Oxegen festivities this year is the provision of hot shower facilities for the 70,000 fans expected to camp out in the designated camping areas.
While free parking and paid parking sites have been arranged for some 15,000 cars, organisers have encouraged concert-goers to make use of public transport if possible. A new free park and ride shuttle service from Goff's on the Naas Road will operate before and after the concerts.
Gardaí at Naas who are overseeing traffic management have warned that motorists will not be permitted to drop off or collect passengers on any of the surrounding roads and must instead arrange to meet people at the designated meeting-points. Motorists who fail to park in the designated parking areas will have their cars towed and will have to pay towing fees.
Dublin Bus is operating a special shuttle service from Parnell Square West which departs every 20 minutes each day. The service starts tomorrow at midday and runs until 8pm. It resumes again at 10am until 6pm on Saturday and at 11am until 4pm on Sunday .
Bus Éireann will also run a service from Custom House Quay in Dublin to Oxegen from 1pm to 9pm on Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Concert organisers MCD say that tickets are completely sold out. Anyone arriving without a ticket should not buy tickets from touts as they could be forgeries.
Sun-worshippers can expect sunny spells tomorrow and Saturday and are advised to pack sun cream for the weekend.