I spent the weekend at Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire, UK an event known for incredible climactic spectacles. All weekend I heard the Brits murmuring about The Big Thing. One of the performers camping with me in the crew area told me that she couldn’t reveal what it would be but she’d spent all day high above the festival training with 50 other people. I assured her I would go to the show but I thought, “Yeah, I’ve probably seen it before.” However, in my years of festivaling I was still astounded by what Wilderness pulled off.

The tradition of a Saturday Night Spectacle started at Wilderness in 2013 with an artistic collective called the Bellringers, followed by Macnas with And Now in 2014. This year the festival collaborated with La Fura Dels Baus (The ferret from Els Baus) a Spanish theatrical group based in Barcelona know for "extravagant urban theatre and large scale choreography which blurs the boundaries between audience and actor."

I marveled at the giant robot and incredible, operatic performance, but La Fura was just getting started. After the Robot had risen, performed and danced, a white shape emerged from the right of the stage.

“Oh my god, they’re humans, I didn’t realize they were humans!”

La Fura Dels Baus were responsible for the human net at the Beijing Youth Olympics Opening Ceremony. Wilderness 2015 is only the second time they have endeavored to create The Human Net. As you can see, the choreography was stunning. But it was the big finish that really blew my mind. 

“We have such a rich heritage of festivals and the arts, and I’ve never seen anything as spectacular as the Human Net at a festival.” My English friend Loriann Luckings-Marwood told me.

I couldn’t help but think… they should take this to Burning Man.