This years Isle of Wight Festival takes place on 13th, 14th and 15th of June 2008. The festival is a massive music festival which takes place annually on the Isle of Wight. Now in its seventh year since its reincarnation in 2002, the Isle of Wight Festival is one of the UK's biggest annual musical highlights so much so that last year at the 2007 UK Festival Awards, the Isle of Wight Festival was voted the "Best Major UK Festival". The festival also won the "Outstanding Contribution to Festivals" award.
Sponsored by BT, The Isle of Wight Festival is held at Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight which is a 250 acre site dedicated to the festival. This year the Isle of Wight Festival will be showcasing some of the biggest acts on the planet. Confirmed as headliners for the festival are The Kaiser Chiefs, Sex Pistols, and The Police. Also appearing throughout the festival weekend are the The Enemy, KT Tunstall, Kate Nash, Iggy and The Stooges, Kooks, and N.E.R.D to name a few. More recent confirmers at the Isle of Wight festival are the Hoosiers and Scouting for Girls.
The Isle of Wight Festival is famous for attracting some of the best acts in the world and over the years have hosted the likes of Bob Dylan, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, R.E.M., Coldplay, Bryan Adams, Faithless, Razorlight, Travis, Snow Patrol, The Prodigy, Foo Fighters, Groove Armada, Kasabian, Keane and even the The Proclaimers. One artist that was booked and has now dropped out was Lily Allen. Lily Allens management pulled the plug on her performance at this years festival because she has failed to deliver her second album on time.
But if you are thinking of attending this years event then I would suggest visiting ebay or get surfing the internet because the 50,000 tickets for the three day event are now officially sold out. For those of you lucky enough to have tickets I would suggest booking an Isle of Wight bed and breakfast or hotel straight away as all the Isle of Wight accommodation books up very quick for this period.
A great Isle of Wight bed and breakfast I found to stay at last year during the festival was the Shorwell Bed and Breakfast situated just outside of Newport. And may I say the lovely Gina is a fantastic host and makes a great traditional English breakfast. Shorwell itself is a pretty village with thatched cottages, a church and a good village pub called the Crown Inn that has a trout stream running through it. It's just a stones throw away from Seaclose Park, Newport where the Isle of Wight festival is being held and is a peaceful retreat once that days set of music was over. So for all you lot who are not staying at the festival site and need alternative Isle of Wight accommodation then give the Shorwell Bed and Breakfast a ring or visit them at http://www.shorwellbedandbreakfast.com
Those of you who are rouging it at the Isle of Wight Festivals campsite and want to make your own breakfast in the morning then make sure that when you get off the Isle of Wight ferry you follow the traffic signs to the camping entrance on Fairlee Road. Once there you will be directed to the car parks and then into the camping area. Just a word of warning here and this is learnt by experience, don't try and sleep in your vehicle unless you have booked a campervan pass. Oh and another bit of advice - the wristband you are given when you enter the main festival and campsite for the weekend - please take care of it.
On that note all I can say is see you there and let's make this Isle of Wight festival even better then last years event.
