City of Portsmouth College takes Victorious by storm

Not even stormy weather could prevent the fun at Victorious Festival – with City of Portsmouth College once again playing a big part!

With student band Minerva performing – their farewell performance before disbanding – and the College taking centre stage with a hair, make-up and selfie station in the Kids Arena, there was plenty of COPC magic around at the Southsea Common extravaganza.

And our students were out and about, too. Journalism student Joshua Schubert-Mooney and student photographers Chloe Fox and Julia Jagiello documented the weekend for us – which we’re delighted to share with you here!

CITY OF PORTSMOUTH COLLEGE TAKES VICTORIOUS BY STORM

By Joshua Schubert-Mooney

Victorious: Portsmouth’s biggest and brightest event of the year. People from all over the country travel down South to experience the vibrant atmosphere created by musicians, both renowned and up-and-coming, and their crowds. City of Portsmouth College is a proud sponsor of this festival, which is fitting due to the vast amount of college students who attend and perform at Victorious. The students at COPC are incredibly lucky to be given these opportunities, and I’m sure they feel extremely grateful to the College for allowing them to express themselves artistically.

On the first day of the festival, a student band by the name of Minerva performed on Victorious’ Bandstand Stage, and they set the bar high. Opposing the calmer environment that still lingered in the early hours of the festival, their rock-adjacent performance was electric, solidifying the band as an incredible talent. It felt obvious from an audience perspective how much each band member loved their craft, talking before original songs about which member of the band wrote which song, involving the crowd in their performance, and allowing themselves to have fun. Unfortunately, this was Minerva’s last performance as a band, but they made sure to make a statement about how much they’ll miss this, after two years of performing together. It was an “unforgettable experience,” according to a festival goer, and I’d have to agree with that. However, despite the atmosphere built by Minerva, it was sadly the first and last COPC student band to take to the Bandstand Stage due to the poor weather, but it was an unforgettable weekend for these musicians, nonetheless.

The rest of the weekend lived up to the exhilarating atmosphere created by these talented students, as bands from across the country took each of Victorious’ stages and made it their own. It was so beautiful to see everyone have such an enjoyable time at Victorious, embracing live music at the decade old festival, knowing that our generation would never let something as thrilling as the ‘Seaside Festival’ die. College students from all over Hampshire come to enjoy the weekend with their friends, with one claiming that the “atmosphere is genuinely so electric,” and another describing Victorious as “sensational.” Live music has brought people together from the dawn of time, and it still seems to be working with a forthcoming generation of students who appreciate the local bands, such as The Common, or the headliners, such as Richard Ashcroft.

The staff of COPC working at Victorious also appeared to be having a wonderful time, running two activity stations, located in the Kids Arena. The first was a free photobooth, where people were able to choose from a wide array of props and costumes to take photos with their friends, documenting the extraordinary weekend. The other was a hair and beauty stall, run by both staff and students specialising in the subject, adorning people with fun designs involving colour and glitter, allowing people to entirely embrace the festival experience. The students at this station, similarly to the musicians, seemed incredibly grateful for the opportunity, and the staff alike appeared to be enjoying themselves, with everything expressing the kindest and friendliest mannerisms, setting a great example when representing COPC.

Concluding the weekend, Victorious’ generosity in allowing City of Portsmouth College to be a part of their legendary festival made for such an unforgettable time for many students, staff, and other festival goers alike. The ambience of the weekend was something that will live on in this festival for many years to come, and the students who got to be included in something so spectacular helped to make the festival the unifying experience that it was, bringing a community of youth to support and partake in Portsmouth’s most exceptional event: Victorious Festival.

Pictures by student photographers Chloe Fox and Julia Jagiello.