The apps suck, the dating pool is more of a rancid pond, and you can’t bring yourself to unfollow the last four guys you went on bad Hinge dates with, so now you’re stuck seeing their “pint in the sun lads wahey” IG stories for the rest of your life. Why not, then, go on a blind date at a music festival? Why not expose yourself to a random chance encounter that might change your life? Why not, eh!?
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Every year, up to 130,000 people make the annual pilgrimage to Download, the UK’s biggest rock and metal weekender. Statistically speaking, at least some of them are single – which is what prompted the creation of Download Festival Singles Dating, a Facebook group to connect people at the event “whether that's as friends or more than that”. We decided to play Cupid and put out a call for people who wanted to get set up with a stranger, and paired them up based on some questions, like: What band were they most excited to see? What did they like to do on a date? Were they an extrovert or an introvert?Six brave singles answered the call. We did your best to match them up, sent them off on a date to see if there were any sparks and then caught up later with them to see if they clicked. Welcome to Casa Amor, festival-style. My dating life at the moment is shite. Shitty men, shitty people, better off being alone! [laughs] Peter and I picked stuff out for each other [at the shops], I obviously went colourful. I’m not even gonna lie to you, I thought ‘he’s not going to like me and he’s not gonna understand me’ but we’ve got things in common. His dad and my granddad are from the same place, so we bonded over that. Yeah, I would meet him again – he’ll see me whether he wants to or not!
Sarah, 28, a support worker from Liverpool
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Peter, 24, a hotel porter from Bradford
Mark, 37, hospitality worker from Aberdeenshire
Bella, 22, an account executive from London
Tyler, 21, a barman from Cornwall
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We went up on the Ferris wheel and mainly chatted about music and where we came from. It was very music-oriented which is fair for a festival. I believe we are going to hang out again…I mean, she hasn’t wandered off yet! We’re going on the bumper cars.