Oxegen, Punchestown Races, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, 8th-10th July, 2011

As Europe’s award winning, 100 per-cent carbon neutral festival, the only emissions at Oxegen 2010 were good vibes, as Jay-Z, Florence and the Machine, Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons, the Black Eyed Peas, Laura Marling, Faithless, The Prodigy and Hot Chip set the main stage a blaze. An hour’s bus ride away from the nearest airport in Dublin, Oxegen’s atmosphere is predictably friendly and fun loving, and if you miss your flight back you can always hang around the track afterwards to try and win your way back home.

Insider Tip: Other than avoiding topics of conversation involving Oliver Cromwell, we’d recommend mentally preparing yourselves for the likes of Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro, both of whom are looking likely to be making appearances in 2011.