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JULY / AUGUST | BIGGER PICTURE

50 years young

What : Isle of Wight Festival Where : Newport , Isle of Wight When : 21 Jun – 24 Jun 2018
Picture : Callum Baker
Access provides some fun facts to celebrate the Isle of Wight Festival ’ s 50th :
• Since the Isle of Wight Festival relaunched in 2002 , it has featured headline acts from some of the world ’ s biggest stars including David Bowie , Coldplay , The Rolling Stones , Paul McCartney , Blur , Fleetwood Mac and the Foo Fighters
• Security and policing at the event is reported to have cost around £ 1m alone and around 5,000 people are employed to help lay on the event
• The Isle of Wight Festival App was downloaded 11,000 in its first day of the 2016 event with over 17,000 or roughly a quarter of users downloading it over the weekend event
• In 2011 the Isle of Wight Festival won a Greener Festival Award and was just one of five UK festivals to attain an outstanding rating
• In 2008 a 2.5kw free standing wind turbine adjacent to the main arena provided a percentage of the energy needed to power the backstage area as part of the Festival ’ s eco commitment
• In 2007 two festival goers paid for a plane to go up and circle around the festival site with marriage proposals
• Around 35,000 pints are poured in an hour at the IOW Festival
• In 2015 the festival dedicated its stage to Jimi Hendrix naming it the Electric Church which is how Hendrix referred to his music
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