"By all accounts Godskitchen's gathering was pretty bonkers." Mixmag.net

"Godskitchen pulled out all the stops to create a real clubber’s playground; with six massive arenas catering for all tastes from hard house to garage, and some of the worlds finest DJs delivering some of the hottest tracks of the year" Spaced.co.uk

"The first Godskitchen Global Gathering festival went off with a bang at the weekend" Burnitblue.co.uk

The sleepy town of Stratford-upon-Avon didn't know what had hit it when 25,000 revellers descended on Saturday to enjoy the first ever GLOBAL GATHERING - billed as 'the event of summer 2001'.

The queues were immense, and when the gates finally opened at 4pm, on what felt like the hottest day of the year so far, the setting was perfect.

As we basked in the glorious sunshine whilst absorbing the music from the six arenas, we knew this night was going to be a stormer.

The party was already in full swing by 5pm and I was amused by a hilarious re-enactment of 'It's a Knockout', hosted by the legendary cult icon Stuart Hall.
Teams were made up from DJs, the press, random people snatched from the crowd and for some reason Penny from Big Brother! Drawn by the crowds going mad in the Godskitchen Arena I wandered off to check it out. I couldn't believe it was only 6pm.
There had to be 4,000 people avin' it in there already!

The Godskitchen arena rocked all night (and morning!) With a fantastic live appearance by Chicane - a rare treat - the vibe was one of anticipation until they came on stage at 10pm.

I hadn't seen them play live before and this was the most memorable part of the night.

Later on the crowd were VERY excited by the entrance of Judge Jules. As the lasers moved from side to side making mind numbing patterns and extravagant shapes around the arena the applause he received when he arrived in the booth was like nothing I had ever seen before, second only to the absolute pandemonium when he started his set.

People were even dancing on the grass outside among the outside lighting and visual spectacular because there wasn't enough room in the 10,000 capacity tent!

The quality of the music and atmosphere in the Godskitchen arena didn't stop as the sun came up and the people danced on until Mauro Picotto had spun the final record of what will be remembered for many people as a very special morning.

Even with the hot weather the Babooshka tent stayed cool all day and night, Joey Negro played some eclectic funky vocal and soulful house early on in the evening - he was on top form but the true 'daddy' of the arena David Morales came on at around 5am as it was getting light, he showed his skill as a true showman, knowing exactly how to keep the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand after 15 hours' dancing. Dave Seaman and Steve Lawler entertained in the Session/ Muzik arena, where the more discerning clubber was to be found. Sander Kleinenberg proved the old adage 'better late than never' to be true, with an intricate and innovative set.

The Sidewinder UK Garage arena was mentioned frequently by people I spoke to as one of the most exciting arenas, musically, due to the scope of the talent on show. The phenomenal rise of UK garage has been amazing to watch over the last few years, and is one of the few truly British musical genres around. I caught the end of MJ Cole's set and his distinctive style fitted the bill perfectly - I was blown away by the funky beats and soulful vocals he uses. This arena contained an up for it crowd who were quite happy to ignore the sunshine outside in favour of the two-step. Whenever I popped my head in there seemed to be at least 5 MCs on stage freestyling and the crowd definitely knew all the rhymes.

In the Sidewinder Drum n' Bass Arena appearances from DJs Roni Size and Hype and MC Skibadee stood out for me. And then there was the fabulous live appearance from Kosheen. It was fantastic to see live drum n' bass, especially in such awesome settings. The drum n' bass heads definitely had loads to get their teeth into here - many a t-shirt was off by the end!

The Tidy Trax Arena attracted a hardcore crowd, in evidence by the sheer number of Tidy Trax t-shirts I spotted around on the night. The prospect of a back-to-back set from Lisa Lashes and Anne Savage was obviously a big thrill, as this tent was rammed by the time they came on stage . I saw the first ½ hour, and if the Tidy Boys are the kings of hard house, then these girls are definitely the queens! This tent was absolute mayhem all night - whenever I returned the atmosphere never once lapsed. Those guys know how to party!

The setting and scenery really did complete the whole event in style. Apart from the DJs and MCs featured, who include some of the world's finest, visually the festival was truly spectacular. A huge inflatable gorilla and dragon, what seemed like hundreds of people dressed in animal costumes being unleashed from a cage, green lasers like something out of batman or thundercats piercing the nights sky . . . I'm sure I wasn't alone in wondering "am I imagining all this?" After the obligatory ride on the dodgems (never so good as when with all your mates at 5am!) I felt I had really experienced what the organisers had aimed to achieve - the ultimate dance festival.