Virgin Mobile to Live Stream Splendour in the Grass

It's that time of year again. Australia's favourite mid-winter music festival kicks off this Friday, with some amazing acts gracing Belongil Fields in Byron Bay. Featuring The Kooks, Jack White, Bloc Party, The Smashing Pumpkins, Miike Snow, Gossip, Lana Del Rey, Azealia Banks, and New Zealand's Kimbra and Ladyhawke to name a few, the three day festival offers that little ray of escapism from the long winter months and the lack of summer sun time witnessed by most. And those fortunate enough to secure tickets to the sold out event are in for a treat, with long range forecasts for weather looking pretty good.

If you can't make this year's event, you can watch the performances via over 8 hours of live streaming performances thanks to Virgin Mobile's sponsorship of Splendour in the Grass. Plus, Virgin Mobile customers who register via the Virgin Mobile Facebook App will be rewarded with access to a number of customer benefits made available to them by using Near Field Communications (NFC) Wristbands. Some of these benefits are:

Star Treatment Stop on the drive to Byron, providing coffees, massages, comfy beanbags and refreshing tunes.
Access to Posh Pits which is code for a fancy bathroom with five minute makeovers
Fast Lane express bar queue. More time watching the music as opposed to yarning to some random about how awesome this event is. You had me at hello.
Recharge Stations for your mobiles so you can tell your mates how awesome this event is
Access to an exclusive Channel V party at the Beach Hotel on the Saturday
And of course, access to prizes (which you find out by tapping the Wristband).

I will be heading on this trip to experience all of this, taking a representative from New Zealand's largest Festival Rhythm and Vines, who will no doubt be taking some serious notes on how brands can tastefully activate at a Festival without tarnishing the experience. For full updates, follow @playgroundnews and @playgroundNZ.