When it comes to eye-popping, imagination-grabbing rave experiences, Arcadia is in its own lane. A spider towering over 50 feet, weighing over 50 tonnes, spitting fire balls over 60 feet high; it makes even the most impressive standard festival mainstage production look like a stage in your local social club.

Since catapulting themselves into the rave game in 2008 at Glastonbury Arcadia have continually updated, developed and amplified their mechanical activities. From the spider itself to the immense Metamorphosis shows where alien spiders scuttle along high wires and tunes are played out with lightning conductors, the team and their machines never stand still, constantly looking to add impressive new twists to their unique tale.

The next unique twist will be revealed on May Bank Holiday Weekend – May 5-6 – as Arcadia celebrate a decade of raves with two massive parties in London’s iconic Olympic Park and unveil a brand new stage: the 360° Reactor stage. Blacked out and designed to complement the geometry of the tent, Arcadia state it’s one of their most impressive builds to date. Which is saying something, considering the size and status of that massive spider.

Join us on May 6 as we celebrate 10 years of Arcadia for the bass day alongside Ram Records. The line-up is suitably eye-popping and imagination-grabbing: Rudimental, Noisia, TQD, Coki & Mala, Preditah B2B Bassboy, Ed Solo B2B Serial Killaz, Dre Skull & Jubilee and DJ Vadim will be manning the spider while Ram Records will takeover the Reactor with Delta Heavy, Bad Company UK, Bensley, Calyx & TeeBee, Chords, DC Breaks, Ed Rush & Optical, Killbox, Loadstar, Mind Vortex, Rene Lavice and The Upbeats.

The party kicks off at 12pm, full info and ticket details can be found here.

It’s Arcadia’s largest UK stand-alone event to date. Here’s how they got to this impressive unique position in global rave culture through 10 years in pictures and facts…

Arcadia Facts

• The Spider weighs in at 50 tonnes
• It is 55 feet tall and 60 feet wide. With the flames activated, the combined height is well over 100 feet
• It is built from recycled materials including jet engines, helicopter fuselages, turbine blades and industrial cranes
• It fits into five shipping containers for transport
• The Spider has sailed around the world at least once in each of the last two years
• Its flame cannons shoot fireballs of up to 60 feet
• Arcadia built the world’s first recycled biofuel pyrotechnic system
• It takes three days to build the spider, and requires approximately 60 people to operate it
• The Arcadia Spider is a ‘face’ of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s ‘This is Engineering‘ campaign to change perceptions around what engineering can be away from dry infrastructure projects.

10 Years Of Arcadia In Photos

2008: The very first Arcadia installation, the Afterburner. Built in a Dorset cowshed from an old jet engine, it makes its debut at Glastonbury.

2009: The first aerial performance at Arcadia as a truck with a crane is built into the Afterburner structure.

2010: It’s got legs. Three Customs & Excise scanning units are added to the Afterburner, reaching into the crowd and redefining Arcadia’s scale.

2011: A year of modifications as a Tesla coil is added to the top of the structure to fire lightning and the show soared in complexity.

2012: The Spider is born. Jet engines become eyes as the stage is removed and the DJ booth is suspended above the dancefloor so people can get underneath. A new level of immersion.

2013: 50,000 people gather around the Spider at Glastonbury as Arcadia move to the centre of the festival.

2014: On the Road. Arcadia hold their first international show in Bangkok. So begins a journey across four continents.

2015: Arcadia take over Bristol’s Grade 1 listed Queen Square to celebrate the city’s year as European Green Capital. World’s first recycled biofuel pyrotechnic system launched.

2016: The world tour reaches Australia where Arcadia collaborate with the Aboriginal Nyungar people on the performance of a Spider song not seen in public since 1901.

2017: The biggest yet. The Metamorphosis show extends the immersive action across the entire arena with tens of thousands flooding to see it every night.

2018: May 5-6, London Olympic Park, 12pm – 10.30pm. Tickets and info.