WAO 2026 in Italy, suggestions..
First of all, so many good things: the location is beautiful on top of a hill, where you can admire a stunning valley, whilst dancing on the main floor.
The Healing Village was a life saver for getting chai and magic natural ingredients for any symptoms.
The sound system, the line up and visuals were honestly incredible. (Call me crazy but I could hear much clearer sounds than Ozora this year)
I really loved the general energy of the festival. Everyone was super friendly, respectful, happy and just good vibes all around.
The little shops were cute, and the arrosticini were definitely one of my highlights!
A few things I wish could be improved, just as feedback from someone who has been to quite a few festivals and collected several opinions by talking to others:
• Wine: Yes, wine goes first 🤣 I really don’t mean this in a snobby way, as at the end of the day it’s a Psytrance gathering for hippies, but I think the festival could make SO much more of being in the Orvieto area.
Partnering with local wineries could be great both for the experience and financially for the festival, just like ZNA, BOOM & Ozora do. I saw quite a few people bringing their own wine from home anyway, so it honestly feels like a missed opportunity not to offer good local wine. When you drive in Orvieto it says “La città del vino”!!! €4 for a small glass of boxed wine was very disappointing, especially for people coming from abroad who might not be able to carry much.
• Food: Same here. I think local, simple and yummy food would work much better. Theres only 4 proper food stands, mostly vegetarian. The pizza they make are great, small but nice! But what about a good feed after a long day of dancing?! The food doesn’t have to be fancy or overly sophisticated. Good pastas, focaccia, main local dishes would make everyone happy. A Pad Thai that doesn’t really taste like Pad Thai is probably not the best use of a food stand 😅. Also, portions were quite small for the prices. After dancing all day, spending around €20 and still being hungry is a bit much.
• Drinks: €3 for a fake Coca-Cola also felt pretty unnecessary.
• Toilets: The chemical toilets became quite unhygienic. I think this could definitely be managed better with more frequent cleaning & more facilities. Bring toilet paper!!
• Shuttle: The “shuttle” situation really needs to be resolved. Even the volunteers who bring people up and down in their cars are fed up of how badly it’s being managed. Theres no actual shuttle, you’ll be collected by someone driving their car and paying €6 euros each way. On the way back even though I tried to book, I was told to message several numbers , none of which was able to help. So I just waited for the next available car driving down by Gate 2. I almost missed my train. The people driving complained of those who booked and didn’t show up. So I suggest to get people to pay beforehand and get an actual vehicle that can carry more people! For the capacity of 4000/5000 people there needs to be a little more thought put into efficient transport.
Overall, it was an amazing festival and I think with some improvements around food, drinks, toilets and making better use of local products, it could be even better.