Isle of Wight Festival 2024 in England

The Isle of Wight Festival in Newport is considered to be the oldest major summer festival in the United Kingdom. The heritage of this annual event reaches back over 45 years and is incredibly varied and rich.

The Isle of Wight Festival started with events which were held from 1968 through 1970 and were declared as Europe’s equivalent of Woodstock. In 1970, a 5-day line up included Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, Leonard Cohen and others who played to over 600,000 people. The event was said to be one of the largest human gatherings in the world.

Initially, the series of The Isle of Wight was organised and promoted by Ron and Ray Foulk under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited. The festival was put on pause between 1970 and 2002 and then re-launched by established music promoter, John Giddings, who still curates every part of the Festival. Since then, The Isle of Wight Festival stages have hosted David Bowie, Paul McCartney, The Who, Kasabian, The Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Fleetwood Mac, Muse and many more.