Nokia Isle of Wight Festival 2006

Nokia Isle of Wight Festival rockets to incredible new heights

Temperatures soared in the Island’s capital as the 50,000 strong crowd soaked up musical offerings from some of the biggest names in the industry today along with what has been described as a ‘sensational atmosphere superior to many larger UK festivals.’ The event reached its climax on the Sunday evening when a display of fireworks illuminated the night sky whilst super-group Coldplay drew the weekend to an impressive close.

The reawakening of a time-honoured heritage

This year’s three-day event marked the fifth anniversary of the rebirth of the Isle of Wight Festival and it is clear that the emphasis is now shifting firmly towards the future of what has become a major event for the Island. Undoubtedly within twenty years time the scenes that Islanders and visitors from the mainland experienced in Seaclose Park this June will also regenerate to become pages in the history books.

The Isle of Wight festival is famed for its roots, which lie firmly amongst the three original festivals in 1968, 1969 and 1970. 10,000 people attended the first festival, 150,000 witnessed the second one (when Bob Dylan was also present) and a massive 600,000 flocked over to the West Wight for the third festival in 1970 when Jimmy Hendrix stared.

Festival promoter John Giddings from Solo said that he believed he had achieved improvement in the size and scale of the event plus an increase in its entertainment value whilst steering the festival through to its fifth year. Much of this was down to the inclusion of extra fields, stretching from the arboretum through the grounds of Medina High School; which were responsible for accommodating attractions that extended way on into the night.
Mr Giddings also referred to the festival as a ‘complete’ event this year now that the main arena and all of the on-site facilities led right the way through to the campsite, meaning that festival-goers no longer had to make their way back and forth along Fairlee Road as had been the case in previous years.

High energy and euphoria

The Friday evening of the festival got off to a euphoric start as smoke and searchlights filled the air above Seaclose Park when the Prodigy took centre stage. Voted ‘Best Festival Dance Act’ of 2005 and widely acclaimed as one of the most successful British bands of the past decade, the Prodigy electrified fans as they performed hits such as ‘Fire starter’ and ‘Breathe.’ This act certainly demanded the full attention of its audience and, judging by the sea of people who were dancing wildly to the music, it would seem that they were more than willing to surrender to The Prodigy’s ultimatum!

Unwinding in the summer sunshine

Contrary to the thundering vitality of the opening night, Saturday started off with a more relaxed feel to it as American songwriter Suzanne Vega encouraged crowds to sing along with the chorus to her 1987 hit ‘Tom’s Diner.’

Celebrity surprise guest and supermodel Kate Moss later introduced Primal Scream who are credited as being one of the most consistently successful bands of the past ten years. It was then left to The Editors and American rock band the Foo Fighters to round off Saturday evening. For The Editors it was an exciting time as this was the biggest gig they had ever played.

Another famous face to appear at this year’s festival was West end actress recently turned singer, Laura Michelle Kelly. An Islander herself, Laura Michelle chose to spend the weekend amongst the crowds so that she could experience the event first-hand. She even pitched her own tent in the campsite!

There was another reminder of the heritage of the Isle of Wight Festival in store for on-lookers on Sunday afternoon when the remaining members of classic British band Procol Harum took to the stage.
It would certainly seem that travelling across the Solent and setting up camp in Newport put people in the holiday mood. Many of today’s festival-goers first visited the Island as children and therefore saw this as their opportunity to rediscover several of the towns, beaches and tourist attractions outside of the festival arena, over the course of the 3-day weekend. This left the whole Island buzzing with an air of enthusiasm.

A blistering explosion of jubilation

As the 2006 Nokia Isle of Wight Festival drew to a close, former front man from The Verve; Richard Ashcroft wowed the crowds by singing the group’s classic hit 'Bittersweet Symphony' before handing over to the biggest British band in the world today to provide the ending to this years triumphant event.

Surrounded by a laser show of dazzling red and green lights Coldplay performed their only European concert of the year prior to travelling to their next gig which is scheduled to take place in Australia. Their set lasted for nearly two hours – the highlight of which included a ‘mass sing-along’ to several of their multi-award winning hits along with an unpredicted rendition of the Lou Reed song ‘Perfect Day’ which the veteran singer had failed to perform during his act earlier on that afternoon.

Along with the stunning setting that the Island provided for the festival and the well-credited friendliness of its residents, having the emphasis on one central stage is said to have played a major part in the on-going success of this extraordinary event. A single stage means that everyone who goes to the festival is able to share the same experience, which results in a tremendous atmosphere. It also encourages festival-goers to turn their attention to fresh new bands – one of whom this year was The Kooks.

As we begin to turn our thoughts to what might be in store for us on the Island when the festival season comes around again next year, there can be little doubt that a new chapter has been written in the history books of the Isle of Wight Festival. Now we must wait with excitement for June 2007 to see if there is any possible way our expectations can once again be surpassed!

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