Bloodstock 2026 is turning its 25th anniversary into a fundraising weekend, with the Heavy Metal Truants’ Ed To Ed challenge running in the main arena. Attendees can pay £5 to take part, and the festival has built the charity activity into the same weekend as gaming, display pieces and prize draws.
Sam Hibbert, Head of Pro Gaming at Scan, said: "Having just celebrated our own 40th anniversary, we’re thrilled to support Bloodstock Festival in its 25th year. Music has always been closely connected to gaming, so we’re excited to be giving Bloodstock attendees the opportunity to experience the awesome design and breathtaking performance of our 3XS Systems gaming PCs during the festival."
Ed To Ed Challenge at Bloodstock
The challenge itself is simple and physical: participants use a static bike in the HMT tent in the main arena, while a hand crank is available for differently-abled participants. Children race to 5ml and adults race to 10ml, and every participant receives an HMT sticker.
The prize structure is more aggressive than the ride format suggests. The fastest of each pair of challengers wins an HMT pin badge, hourly leaderboard champions earn 5 raffle entries worth £20, and the fastest time of the weekend wins 50 free entries worth £100. Multiple attempts are allowed during the weekend, so the value is in repeated runs, not one-and-done participation.
Scan Computers and BattleRigs
Scan Computers and BattleRigs built a one-off custom gaming PC for Bloodstock, designed exclusively for the festival and one lucky winner. Scan is also bringing 6 gaming PCs powered by AMD and KIOXIA, each paired with a 4K 43-inch iiyama monitor.
That setup lets festival goers play the latest AAA titles and fan favourites in the gaming tent without turning the space into a side attraction that sits apart from the charity push. The gaming offer, the raffle and the challenge all sit inside the same attendance-driven weekend, which is the point: get people through the arena, then give them something immediate to do.
RAM Gallery and Sunday 9th August
The Dave Murray guitar is on display in the RAM Gallery all weekend, while the HMT crew is riding to Catton Park starting today. On Sunday 9th August at 19:00, raffle winners are drawn live, which gives the fundraiser a fixed end point instead of letting it drift past the festival itself.
Bloodstock is using its 25th anniversary to make charity participation part of the experience rather than an add-on. For attendees, the practical choice is plain: pay £5 for a run on the static bike or hand crank, or buy into the raffle structure and chase the higher-value entries — and the weekend is set up so either route feeds the same fundraising engine.
