Isle of Wight Festival 2007

Last updated

Isle of Wight Festival 2007
Isle of Wight Festival 2007 logo.png
Isle of Wight Festival stage under construction.jpg
Isle of Wight Festival 2007 stage under construction.
Genre Rock, pop
Dates8–10 June 2007
Location(s) Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight, UK
Website Official website

The Isle of Wight Festival 2007 was the sixth revival of the Isle of Wight Festival on the Seaclose Park site in Newport, Isle of Wight. It took place between June 8th and 10th, 2007. It was the first festival since 2003 without an official sponsor.

Contents

The festival's capacity was approximately 60,000 attendees. Local artist Helen Davenport created a 15 ft (4.6 m) tall illuminated wicker and tissue paper statue to commemorate the performance of Jimi Hendrix at the 1970 festival. [1] The venue was next to a campsite in an extensive area of farmland.

The 2007 Festival sold out in a record time, less than five days. The festival was The Rolling Stones' first British festival performance for over thirty years since their performance at the 1976 Knebworth Fair.

The Red Arrows performed a full-smoke aerial display during the festival weekend. [2]

The festival won the "Best Major Festival" award at the 2007 UK Festival Awards in London in November 2007. This beat off stiff competition from Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park and Reading and Leeds Festivals. This success was followed by promoter John Giddings winning the "Outstanding Contribution to UK Festivals" award. In reaction to this, Glastonbury organiser, Michael Eavis, offered to present Giddings with the award personally.

Highlights

Line Up

Main stage

Keane. Keane's stage at the Isle of Wight Festival 2007.JPG
Keane.
James Morrison. James Morrison at the Isle of Wight Festival 2007.JPG
James Morrison.
The Rolling Stones with Amy Winehouse. The Rolling Stones with Amy Winehouse at the Isle of Wight Festival 2007.JPG
The Rolling Stones with Amy Winehouse.

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Strongbow Rooms

Strongbow Rooms is a tent and live music venue which tours many of the festivals in the United Kingdom. It made an appearance at the Isle Of Wight Festival with acts such as Annie Mac, Krafty Kuts and Shitdisco. [3]

The Hipshaker Lounge

The Hipshaker Dance Lounge was open on the Thursday 7 June to entertain early camping ticket holders. It featured acts such as The Bees (band) & The Sails and two tribute bands of The Who and The Beatles respectively. [4]

Bacardi B Live

The Bacardi B-Live opened to campers on Thursday 7 June providing music and refreshments. It featured acts such as DJ Norman Jay. [5]

Features

The Strawberry Fields area contained amongst others, the following attractions and features:

Other attractions included:

Controversy

Pre festival controversy

There was some debate amongst the Isle of Wight Council members about whether to grant the Festival a licence, due to the numerous complaints and objections from local residents, mainly those living in Fairlee Road. Ultimately the Council approved the Festival to a maximum of 60,000 attendees. The Festival's future also came under considerable jeopardy as the Isle of Wight Council tried to enforce the Isle of Wight Act 1970, resulting in a £500,000 penalty on the organisers, Solo. The penalty was reduced however, and John Giddings stated that if the Island residents and councillors continued to create such problems for Solo, then the future of the Festival on the Island would be in doubt. John Giddings initially refused to issue Fairlee Road residents with complimentary weekend tickets, as he had done in previous years; perhaps due to the afore-mentioned objections. However, in May he granted free tickets to the residents, many of whom had already bought tickets, thus ending a controversial debate.

There was also some debate as to whether the RMT would grant a general strike [6] on the Island over the Festival weekend. This would have rendered the Island's bus network virtually obsolete and would have left Festival-goers with logistical problems. However, the strike was cancelled and Southern Vectis bus services operated as normal. [7]

Organisers Solo were accused of being ticket touts by the Island residents as the organisers auctioned 100 tickets to the highest bidder on eBay. Giddings replied to the statement claiming 'I have the right to do what I like, because it's my festival'. He also suggested that if people were against this policy then they should simply not buy tickets in this way. The notion of the organisers being touts represents a simplified accusation by those who made the claim.[ citation needed ].

Post festival controversy

Many of the site security team have been accused of being both heavy-handed and ineffective, to the point where one festival attendee was physically assaulted by security resulting in a broken leg. There are claims of ejection from site without due reason by some festival goers. Others claim that security were not present during the incidents[ spelling? ] where they would have been able to assist, particularly in campsite disturbances and theft.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight Festival 1970</span> UK music festival

The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 was a music festival held between 26 and 30 August 1970 at Afton Down, an area on the western side of the Isle of Wight in England. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the island between 1968 and 1970 and often acknowledged as the largest musical event of its time, with a larger attendance than Woodstock. Although estimates vary, Guinness World Records estimated 600,000 to 700,000 people attended. It was organised and promoted by local brothers, Ron and Ray Foulk through their company Fiery Creations Ltd and their brother Bill Foulk. Ron Smith was site manager and Rikki Farr acted as compere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight Festival</span> British music festival which takes place annually on the Isle of Wight in Newport, England

The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Werchter</span> Music festival in Werchter, Belgium

Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for best festival in the world at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC). It can host 88,000 guests daily, of which 67,500 combine all four days, to add up to a total maximum of 149,500 different attendees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxegen</span> Music festival in Ireland

Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland, although this claim is highly disputed as green-washing. It was previously called Witnness, which ran from 2000 and was sponsored by Guinness. The event was promoted by MCD and was sponsored by Heineken. Oxegen was originally a three-day festival, but from 2008 onwards, it was expanded to four days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T in the Park</span> Music festival in Scotland, 1994 to 2016

T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused Balado airfield, Perth and Kinross, from 1997 to 2014. In 2015 the festival moved to Strathallan Castle. It was originally held over two days, and extended to three days from 2007. In 2016 the daily capacity was 70,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V Festival</span> British music festival

V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one location on Saturday and then swapped on Sunday. The sites were located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in South Staffordshire. In 2017, the final year of this format, the capacity of each site was 90,000.

The Hurricane Festival, also just Hurricane, is a music festival that has taken place at the Eichenring, a speedway race track, in Scheeßel, Germany, since 1997. With more than 80,000 attendees (2022) it is one of the largest music festivals in Germany. Southside Festival, often referred to as Hurricane's "sister" festival, takes place on the same three days and has largely the same line-up. Alongside Southside Festival, Hurricane festival is organised by FKP Konzertproduktionen, MCT Agentur and KoKo Konstanz and takes place every June. Like many other large festivals Hurricane Festival plays a mix of rock, alternative, pop and electro music from established as well as emerging artists. Arrival begins at midday on the Thursday.

Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organised by DJ and record producer Rob da Bank along with his wife Josie and was an offshoot of his Sunday Best record label and club nights. The initial Bestival attracted 10,000 people, growing to 50,000 in its final year, 2018. Bestival won 'Best Major Festival' at the 2015 UK Festival Awards, having won 'Best Medium-Sized Festival' in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, 'Best Major Festival' in 2010, 2012 and in 2015, 'Fan's Favourite' in 2011 and 'Best Innovation' in 2005.

Evolution Festival was a music festival held annually across Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, England, from 2002 until 2013. The festival attracted tens of thousands of attendees every year and usually took place on the Quayside. Evolution Festival was briefly titled Orange Evolution due to a sponsorship deal with the mobile phone company Orange. It has been described as "the biggest festival Tyneside has ever staged".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxegen 2006</span>

Oxegen 2006 was the third Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Saturday, 8 July and Sunday, 9 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. The festival was headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers on the Sunday and The Who on the Saturday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxegen 2007</span> Irish music festival held in July 2007

Oxegen '07 was the fourth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Saturday, 7 July and Sunday, 8 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. The festival was headlined by Muse and Snow Patrol on the Saturday and The Killers on the Sunday. The Live Earth concerts occurred around the world on the same day as the Saturday of Oxegen '07.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight Festival 2008</span>

The Isle Of Wight Festival 2008 was the seventh revived Isle of Wight Festival held at Seaclose Park in Newport on the Isle Of Wight. The event took place between 13 June – 15 June 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxegen 2008</span>

Oxegen '08 was the fifth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 11 July, Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. For the first time the festival was a three-day event. The festival was headlined by Kings of Leon on the Friday, The Verve and R.E.M. on the Saturday and Rage Against the Machine on the Sunday.

The Isle of Wight Festival 2003 was the second revived Isle of Wight Festival to take place on the Seaclose Park site in Newport on the Isle of Wight. It was the first to take place on the second weekend in June, which would be then set as the Festival's annual date.

The UK Festival Awards are awarded annually, with various categories for all aspects of festivals that have taken place in the UK, and one category for European festivals. The Awards were first established in 2004 by Steve Jenner and his team at Virtual Festivals.com. They are voted for by the public via the UK Festival Awards website. To ensure fairness, the votes are weighted to take into account the event capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight Festival 2009</span>

The Isle of Wight Festival 2009 was the eighth revived Isle of Wight Festival to be held at Seaclose Park in Newport on the Isle of Wight. The event took place from 12 to 14 June. Headline acts were confirmed for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights as The Prodigy, Stereophonics, Simple Minds and Neil Young respectively.

John Giddings is an English music agent and promoter who has run the Isle of Wight Festival since its revival in 2002.

Camden Crawl was a music festival in Camden, London, which first appeared in 1995 and then was held annually from 2005 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight Festival 2019</span>

The Isle of Wight Festival 2019 was the eighteenth edition of the revived Isle of Wight Festival, which took place at Seaclose Park in Newport, on the Isle of Wight. It was held on 13 to 16 June 2019. Tickets were released on Friday January 25, 2019 at 9 am.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Up The Summer Festival</span> British music festival

Jack Up The Summer is a music festival that takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. The festival was first held in August 2013 and helps fundraise for a range of local charities and good causes. Originally called "Jack Up The 80s", the festival showcases bands and solo artists that had success in the 1980s. In 2019 the name was changed to allow for a greater variety of acts, with household name artists from the 1990s and occasionally 2000s added to the expanded line-up.

References

  1. "Jimi Hendrix Sculpture". Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  2. Isle of Wight Festival 2007
  3. Strongbow Ciderhouse
  4. "Hipshaker". Isle of Wight Festival. Archived from the original on 8 January 2008.
  5. "Bacardi B-Live". Isle of Wight Festival. Archived from the original on 8 January 2008.
  6. "Bus Strike Could Cause Festival Havoc". Isle of Wight Community Press Online. 18 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007.
  7. "Double Delight Over Festival". Isle of Wight Community Press Online. 24 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007.