Isle of Wight Festival 2023 - Who's playing, what to see and how to get there

Festival-goers began arriving at Seaclose Park as early as 8am on Thursday (15 June). Credit: Isle of Wight Festival

Tens of thousands of festival-goers have already started descending on the Isle of Wight for the three-day music event.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the festival:

Line-up

The stacked line-up includes Britpop band Pulp, fronted by Jarvis Cocker, who will perform on Friday night as part of their first run of live shows in a decade.

Chart-topping singer-songwriter George Ezra will headline the Saturday night before The Chemical Brothers take over and close the evening. Sunday will see former Take That star Robbie Williams bring an end to the festival while also making his debut at the event.

The line-up will also include Blondie, the recently reformed Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Eurovision star Sam Ryder, pop-rockers Scouting For Girls and OneRepublic. Former One Direction star Niall Horan will play the festival for the first time after establishing himself as a solo artist with two albums of rock, pop and Americana. Pop performances will also come from James Bay, Mika, Ella Henderson and Anne-Marie.

The main stage and big top will see some of the worlds most famous artists performing in Seaclose Park. Credit: Isle of Wight Festival

Travel

Those making the journey to the Island, as well as locals, can expect transport to be extremely busy, with ferry companies putting on extra services to accommodate festival-goers.

A one-way system was put in place on Wednesday afternoon (14 June) and residents are urged to avoid the main festival traffic routes until next Tuesday.There is expected to be increased traffic through Newport and busy ferry crossings.

Services from Southampton on Red Funnel are still running smoothly, the operator advising that campers should use the East Cowes route, with VIP & non-camping visitors best off using the West Cowes route.

Wightlink services from Portsmouth and Lymington are running smoothly so far. The operator says its FastCat service to Ryde Pier Head will connect with buses taking people straight to the site.

Once visitors are on the Island, dedicated bus services from Southern Vectis will take them to and from the festival grounds.

They'll be running from Thursday until Monday.

The operator is reporting delays of around 20 minutes due to congestion and is encouraging revellers to download its app for real-time information.

Routes 5 and 9 are most affected.

Island Line rail services are also experiencing disruption, due to a shortage of train crew.

Passengers are being advised that there will be changes to services, and many could be cancelled.

Rail operator SWR has arranged ticket acceptance with Southern Vectis.

Meanwhile, on the mainland, a good service is operating from Waterloo to Portsmouth and Southampton, where passengers can connect with ferry services.

For those travelling by car, roads will be more crowded than usual by ports as well as the island, but directional signage should help visitors get to Seaclose Park.

There are some small delays on Town Quay in Southampton by the Red Funnel terminal following an earlier closure. On the Isle of Wight, congestion has been reported in Newport. Traffic Monitoring Service, TomTom, reports queues of around 15 minutes on the A3020. There's also queueing traffic in the Wootton Common area - with around 10 minutes of delays reported.

Parking is provided at the festival site.

Those coming from further afield can catch a 'Big Green Coach' from selected locations, with the carbon-neutral service transporting fans to the event today and back home on Monday.

The majority of fans will be in general camping, but boutique and accessible options are also provided. Credit: Isle of Wight Festival

Weather

It's going to be a warm weekend across the South; Friday is predicted to be the hottest day in Newport out of the three, reaching 26°C.

Saturday and Sunday will be slightly cooler at 21°C.

High UV levels mean fans are encouraged to make sure they are protected and bring sun cream with them to the festival.

Fans will also be happy to hear that little rain is expected over the weekend, with only a slight chance of precipitation early on Saturday and Sunday.

Fans are advised to stay well hydrated during the event and can bring an empty reusable water bottle up to 600ml, with water points available for free dotted around the site.

Very high levels of UV radiation and pollen are expected on Friday, and remaining high throughout the weekend. Credit: Isle of Wight Festival

What to expect

Fans can use the official Isle of Wight Festival app to view running times to make sure they do not miss their favourite acts.

Three stages will feature at the festival, as well as the 'big top', that will see acts such as Example and The Human League take to the floor.

The River Stage will be a first glance into new artists coming onto the music scene, paying homage to the roots of the festival that started in 1968.

As well as this, The Platform One stage will be promoting local talent from the island.

The festival sees a range of ages attend, in what is the island's and Hampshire's biggest event. Credit: Isle of Wight Festival

Other areas include the Hipshaker Lounge which returns this year, with DJ sets and live tribute bands from the worlds of funk, soul, reggae, disco, punk, rock and more from the 60s and 70s.

Lovers of 80s, 90s, and 00s dance music should check out the Electro Love venue.

The island event will also be fully cashless for 2023.

Competitions for the best outfit at the festival can be seen at The Strongbow Yard, where fans can win prizes and tickets to next year's instalment.

Washrooms are provided at the event, as well as luxury toilets and showers.

Disabled access is provided at Seaclose Park with viewing platforms, accessible loos and camping.

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