Compared to other festivals, V is relatively short as it lasts only Saturday and Sunday, yet so much is crammed into those two days that you leave feeling you have been away for much longer.  August is peak festival season and this weekend thousands of people gathered at Hylands Park, in Chelmsford for the annual V festival, which was jam-packed with pop superstars from all over the world, including Justin Bieber, Rihanna, David Guetta and Sia, to name a few.

In true British fashion, the sun decided to disappear on Saturday morning and as I made my way to the park, I regretted not bringing waterproof shoes as I squelched through muddy puddles.

The rain did not deter the masses, however, and instead of the usual display of shorts and crop tops, a sea of girls trooped across the fields to the entrance wearing brightly coloured raincoats and wellington boots.

After collecting my wristband and struggling to put my tent up without it blowing away by the huge gusts of wind, I headed into the main area just in time to see American singer Mike Posner perform on the Virgin Media Stage.

The rising star, who is known for his tracks Cooler than Me and most recent song Took A Pill In Ibiza, burst onto the stage in a flurry of excitable energy. Halfway through his set, he began a monologue which explained why life is so precious. Feeling this was a rather heavy subject for 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, we decided to have a wander round instead and looked for the nearest stall serving alcohol.

As I had a look round the different areas of the park, I realised just how much was on offer for people to do. There were enormous fairground rides that were as tall as skyscrapers in the city and the screams of exhilaration from people on them shot through the air and echoed around the park.

I also took a peak into the VIP area, which was separated from the rest of the festival. Situated in the grounds of a grand manor house, fancy popup cocktail bars were filled with people dancing furiously to the DJ’s fast remixes. At the same time though, there was also an area underneath the trees where festival-goers were taking a moment of relaxation and reflection on yellow, banana shaped hammocks.

Wanting to experience every different genre and see all the stages, which included the MTV stage, Glee Comedy Tent, the Dance Arena and V Street Stage, I made sure I caught glimpses of Zara Larsson, Bastille, Jess Glynne, James Morrison and even 80s pop sensation Rick Astley, who was in high spirits after his new album 50 reached number one in the charts in June. The audience waited patiently for him to finish his new material before ending with his timeless hit Never Going To Give You Up.

That evening, headline acts Sia and Justin Bieber took to the stage with very different performances.

Before Australian songstress Sia came on the stage, there was an announcement that due to the torrents of wind, her set piece would not be used in case it toppled over and caused injury. Rather than appreciating the safety measures, the crowd was not impressed and a chorus of boos rang out during the delay.

Despite the pre-warning, Sia still put on a captivating show and it felt as though we were in the middle of one of her artistic and unique videos, especially as she was joined on stage by teenage dance sensation Maddie Ziegler, who has done routines for each of her singles.

The final performance of Saturday night was the muchly-anticipated act from Justin Bieber that many girls around me in the crowd admitted they had been waiting all day for.

Everyone waited with slightly nervous anticipation in case there was another announcement that the Canadian pop star would be late or that he wasn’t going to come at all. However, the lights dimmed on time and he sauntered on to the stage to deafening screams.

After the first few songs, everyone started to realise that something wasn’t quite right. Despite being able to hear his voice singing the words, a lot of the time his microphone wasn’t placed by his mouth and he admitted half way through that he fancied eating a steak as he was feeling a little worse for wear. He also forgot to smile throughout the performance and when he asked everyone in a deadpan manner if they were having a good time, we wanted to shout back “Are you?”

His acoustic section was better, as he performed new tracks Cold Water and Let Me Love You on his guitar and said he really appreciated how much people were connecting with his new music.

For me, the highlights were Tom Odell, who performed a chilling rendition of Another Love on a piano and also Jake Bugg, who effortlessly strummed his rock and roll chart toppers on his guitar as Sunday evening drew to a close.

Details: vfestival.com

By Rachel Russell