Isle of Wight Festival

Music Festival · June

The Isle of Wight Festival is a major rock and pop music festival held annually at Seaclose Park in Newport. The modern festival, revived in 2002, builds on the legacy of the legendary 1968-1970 festivals that featured Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and The Who, and drew crowds of up to 600,000. Today's festival is a more manageable affair with a capacity of around 55,000, but it remains one of the biggest music events in the UK calendar.

The festival runs from Thursday to Sunday in mid-June, with the main stage headliners performing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Past headliners have included The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, and Muse. Alongside the main stage, there are multiple smaller stages, a comedy tent, a dance area, family entertainment, food and drink stalls, and a craft and vintage market.

The festival site at Seaclose Park is on the edge of Newport, the island's county town, and the proximity to the town centre means that festival-goers have access to shops, cafes and other facilities. Camping is the standard accommodation, with general and VIP camping areas on site. The festival has a significant economic impact on the island, with ferries, hotels, B&Bs and restaurants all benefiting from the influx of visitors.

Getting to the festival involves a ferry crossing, which adds to both the logistics and the sense of occasion. Special festival ferry deals and shuttle buses from the terminals are arranged each year. The weather in mid-June can be glorious or dire, and veterans come prepared for both.