Isle of Wight promoter ‘blessed’ to nonetheless host competition 21 years on
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he promoter of the Isle of Wight Festival mentioned he’s “blessed” to proceed internet hosting the “extraordinary” music occasion 21 years on.
John Giddings, who reinstated the competition in 2002 throughout the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, in contrast the Isle of Wight to the Woodstock Festival in New York.
“I’m just really blessed. I never would have started a festival if it wasn’t the Isle of Wight because I was here in 1970 and it was an iconic name, it was the Woodstock of Europe,” Mr Giddings advised the PA news company.
“If you had told me 21 years ago that I would be standing here today, I wouldn’t have believed you.
“With 55,000 people coming to the island, 31 degrees weather, it’s extraordinary.”
Mr Giddings reinstated the competition after a ban was imposed to cease gatherings of greater than 5,000 folks in a single day.
The ban lasted 32 years, however to open the competition to the plenty, he satisfied Paul Weller to be the headline act, which noticed the variety of folks attending the occasion develop ever since.
“The first year was a one-day event with The Charlatans and Robert Plant with 7,500 people, so I photoshopped the picture to show it to Paul Weller for the next year so that it looked we had 15,000 people,” Mr Giddings mentioned.
Paul Weller, together with Bryan Adams, went on to headline the competition in yr two, and by the third yr David Bowie and The Who have been the primary stage performers.
Mr Giddings mentioned there have been round 35,000 folks competition goers that yr, and “it’s gone upwards ever since”.
“It was really interesting because the island had only seen tribute bands for 32 years, so it was only when we started building the stage that [people] realised that something real was coming,” he mentioned.
“I’m in the music business, so luckily I know lots of these bands, and I think they trusted me in the beginning to pay them, which is the most important thing.
The headline acts at this year’s festival, which Mr Giddings describes as “the biggest show ever” embrace Robbie Williams, Blondie, George Ezra, Pulp and The Chemical Brothers.
Aside from the star-studded line-up, competition goers may take pleasure in a drone present each night which depicts the Isle of Wight and the Needles.
Buy a ticket early for subsequent yr as a result of since we have offered out, I’ve been engulfed with emails, sob tales about individuals who have not acquired tickets.
“We’ve actually got a drone show at the end of the night each night. We sent it up last night and people said ‘wow’,” he mentioned.
With the success of this yr’s competition, Mr Giddings urges competition goers to “book your tickets early” in time for subsequent yr.
He mentioned: “Buy a ticket early for next year because since we’ve sold out, I’ve been engulfed with emails, sob stories about people who haven’t got tickets.”