Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Festivals, UK News
Joshua Nair
The weekend has come and gone, and so too has the country's biggest swinging festival.
Known as 'Swingathon', the four-day event (18 July - 21 July) known as 'Britain's biggest sex festival' was hosted in a quiet Lincolnshire village in the countryside over the weekend, as over 1,000 people returned for the fourth iteration of the festival.
It promised to be 'bigger and better than ever', and judging by the pictures that were posted on social media following the festivities, it looked like it was.
The raunchy event featured 'play tents', pole dancing, hot tubs, foam parties, mobile dungeons and.... err, butt-plug bingo.
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Attendees were made to pay £265 for entry into the steamy festival where like-minded adults can enjoy the swinging lifestyle in a safe space, which is swapping partners with other couples and having sexual experiences with them.
The attendance of over 1,000 doubles last year's total, so festival goers are seemingly unmoved by the complaints from locals to authorities about 'screaming and moaning' from the campsite at night.
Swingathon celebrates fetishes, kinks and supports the LGBTQ+ community, as it is more than just a sex festival.
They have also drawn inspiration from FetFest, a similar festival, adding BDSM and sex toy stalls to its repertoire, while giving guests the option to book 'private play areas' and having a whip-throwing area to get 'practice' in.
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There were also DJs, dancers and comedy acts that took to the stage for entertainment purposes, and a Naked Attraction-inspired competition, among other attractions.
Photos of the festival revealed attendees in bikinis, balaclavas and a place where people can get a 'free kick in the balls' - fair enough.
However, there are a couple of rules that need to be followed at the festival if you're looking to attend next year.
The Swingathon Instagram account answered some questions prior to the event, with the first one centring around an equal split in gender to avoid what the youth of today call a 'sausage fest'.
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They detailed: "We make sure there is a good mix of couples, single male and females. Usually 3 couples per single male. Every single person is checked and verified and has provided ID to ensure safety of all festival goers."
The other strict rule is to get your phone out and capture some of the steamy moments on camera.
Swingathon explained: "Phones are not allowed in either the Swing or Fet Fest Arenas. Strictly no pictures or filming because of the type of event and keeping people's anonymity it is no different from attending a club.
"You may take pictures of yourselves in your own tent area but not of other festival goers."
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A few snaps did slip through the cracks, though it remains to be seen if those people posting them will be allowed back next year.
The majority of photos shared are within the attendees' own tents though, where it looked like they were having a ball of a time.
Organiser Kerry Voellner said before the event that the festival is a 'very social and safe space for people from different lifestyles to meet new people.'
"FetFest is for modern people who are into fetishes. We are just a normal festival for people with alternative lifestyles," she stated.