Along with the Glastonbury festival, the Isle of Wight festival is one of the most popular of British music festivals. It had its origins in the Hippy movement and counterculture of the late 1960s; since then it has grown in size and attracts around 60,000 fans each year. The festival takes place in the island’s county town of Newport, and many fans camp, although the town has a wide variety of other accommodation available. Booking a place to stay as early as possible is just as important as booking the festival tickets in advance.
The festival’s original line up in 1968 included several top rock acts of the day, including the Move, Fairport Convention, T Rex and Jefferson Airplane. Also headlining was Bob Dylan, making his first paid concert performance since being injured in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. The 1970 festival featured the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Leonard Cohen and estimates put the number of attendees at around 600,000. The event was captured on film and it remains one of the greatest gatherings of rock greats ever in one place.
Unfortunately, a ruling by the local council on the numbers of people allowed to gather meant that the festival was put on hold for 30 years; the next one was held in 2002, with Robert Plant headlining. Since that year’s somewhat modest event, the festival has attracted more and more music lovers over the years, with the acts reflecting the music trends of the day, or sometimes of yesterday. Since 2002, the Manic Street Preachers, Counting Crows, the Foo Fighters, the Stone Roses, David Bowie and Boy George have all entertained fans.
By 2019, the isle of Wight Festival was attracting about 60,000 music fans, although the following year saw the event cancelled due to the Covid 19 outbreak. The 2021 festival may be postponed until September, instead of taking place in June, but the line up of appearing acts is still second to none, including Duran Duran, Primal Scream and Liam Gallagher. Not surprisingly, tickets sold out quickly for the four day event, as they typically have in the past.
The festival isn’t only popular with music fans, it’s also a hit with critics and since 2007, the festival organizers have received a constant stream of awards. Some of these include a live music business award, an Isle of Wight tourism award and the best line up of the year award.
