Journalists, photographers and TV crews descended upon a sun-split Stradbally today for an Electric Picnic preview ahead of the festival’s 20^th anniversary.

In line with the fact that this year's entirely cashless festival will be the first in the UK and Ireland to have its main stage powered solely by renewable energy, sustainability was the order of the day, made evident straight off the bat at the Green Crafts Village.

Described as “a holistic, earthly haven within the main arena”, the area will allow Picnic goers to try their hand at new skills like woodworking, black-smithing, pottery and more. There’s also an opportunity to add some festival bling to your fit with master silversmith Michelle Dunne’s pop-up jewellery studio, where she led a demo on ring-making.

Electric Picnic 2024 sneak peek. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

The Trailer Park, thankfully, is set to be it’s usually rag-tag self. Featuring  pirates and its very own Moulin Rouge, the space tends to be a great spot to catch some wild sets each year. It’s also the home to EP’s cutest residents. My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue is an organisation which re-homes neglected animals, with whom attendees can snap some pics with at the Smooch a Pooch photo booth. Young puppy Gracie (see below) will be making her debut, and we reckon that she’ll be competing with the stars for the photographers’ attention this weekend.

Curator Samuel McKenna was stationed a quick buggy ride over at the Theatre of Food, where he brought us through the mouth-watering array of gastro-entertainment on offer, including food battles and Michelin starred chefs. Non-drinkers can also rejoice at the array of incredibly refreshing non-alcoholic drinks on offer, some of which were demo’d by award-winning wine writer Aoife Carrigy.

Just a short walk up the Mindfield site, Dermot Whelan was in position for a quick sit-down chat with former president Mary McAleese, with the pair discussing podcasting and the benefits of meditation. Both Whelan and McAleese will be hosting live iterations of their respective podcasts this weekend

The latter also took a quick moment to reflect on the recent rise of far-right demonstrations in Ireland and the UK, touching on social media’s role to stir hatred but also bring people together.

“There’s two sides of it”, she said. “There’s social media being used to falsify the information, recruit conscripts to toxic anti-immigration, racism and sexism. The other side is the ease of access which it gives to people of great decency to coalesce, meet, and to be together and show that we're not isolated, atomised, unusual or abnormal.”

“Those who believe in racism, misogyny and homophobia are evil,” she concluded. “They're plain and simply evil and they are wasted lives in our world.” Wise words indeed.

After a quick stop and refreshment via spicy Margarita at the all new Smirnoff stage, it was time to meet festival Director Melvin Benn, who said that it made sense for “Electric Picnic to lead the way” as the first major festival in the UK and Ireland to power their main stage with renewable energy. The Festival Republic MD talked at length with Stuart Clark on EP's sustainable efforts and more, in an exclusive interview our latest issue, which you can read here.

Rounding off the day were Limerick alt-pop outfit Hermitage Green, who became the first act to perform on the aforementioned showpiece stage. They offered up a swift three-song set, which included some new tracks and an interesting combination of didgeridoo, harmonica and ripping guitar solos, suggesting that fans will be in for a raucous time when the group close Rankin’s Wood on Sunday evening.

• Electric Picnic 2024 takes places at Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois, from 16- August. Stay tuned to HotPress.com for the latest coverage across the weekend.

Electric Picnic 2024 takes places at Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois, from 16- August. For full information, visit the festival's website here.