Cliffhanger/RatRace Music/Camp

Rat Race Adventure Sports are launching a brand new ‘Festival within a Festival’ at Sheffield’s annual ‘Cliffhanger’ which celebrates the best of sports and outdoors pursuits. Run by Sheffield City Council in collaboration with Heason Events, Rat Race BASECAMP will be housed within the Cliffhanger Event site at Graves Park and will offer participation sports & outdoors activities such as running and biking, plus an amazing line-up of live bands, a real ale tent and camping village.

Rat Race BASECAMP is designed to offer a family-friendly music arena with a super line-up over two nights, coupled with a superb camp-site within Graves Park itself. For those who wish to stretch their legs, the Rat Run on Saturday 7th July will offer a 5k jaunt around Graves Park and for those who want to forage a bit further afield, Sunday’s Rat Ride will offer a 50km cycle-sportive ride into the Peak District.

Live music will be offered on both Friday and Saturday evenings and will feature signed and unsigned bands from Sheffield and across the UK. Friday night’s music is headlined by The Ratells (http://theratells.com/) and features acts including The Northern Generals, Jodi and the Jupitrons and Rumblebird. Saturday night will be headlined by Ellen and the Escapades (http://www.ellenandtheescapades.com/) and will also feature Fossil Collective and Let’s Buy Happiness. Other acts will be announced as part of the line-up through the event’s website at www.ratracebasecamp.com.

BASECAMP is operated by the UK’s leading adventure sports company, Rat Race Adventure Sports. The Yorkshire-based company was founded by ex-red Bull Event Director Jim Mee in 2004 and is responsible for some 30 events annually across the country, as well as operating retail and fitness divisions.

Jim Mee comments: “Sheffield is a city that prides itself on both its music and its adventure sports credentials. As well as producing some of the UK’s best bands, it has also produced our best climbers, plus a raft of stellar athletes. BASECAMP aims to re-trace both the musical and sporting roots of the city with a stunning new addition to the already massively successful Cliffhanger event. Whether you want to run, ride, or simply come and listen to the bands with a beer as the sun goes down on a summer evening, BASECAMP is for those who like being active in the great outdoors, but enjoy letting their hair down too. The setting is also key: Graves Park is a beautiful spot to spend the evening and if you elect to camp under the stars you’ll be rewarded with broad views out into the Peak, which remind us of the adventure that is always on our doorstep in Sheffield.”

Festival Co-organiser Matt Heason from Heason Events says: “It’s our aim at Cliffhanger to inspire people of all ages with a love of the outdoors and adventure sports by giving them a taste of a whole host of different sports and activities in one place. Cliffhanger’s renowned for being family-friendly event so it’s brilliant that RatRace BASECAMP will make this summer’s weekend even more accessible with free day-entry for under-16s and onsite parking plus the camping village and live music arena. And to make it even easier to plan, you can now book tickets online in advance.”

Tickets are on sale for the event via the website at www.ratracebasecamp.com. Music tickets are priced at £10 for the Friday and £15 for the Saturday. The Rat Run and Rat Ride are both priced at £15 each and camping is £6 per night, per person. The music programme is subject to Licence.