Isle of Wight Festival kicks off as music fans in bikini tops, rain macs and wellies brave the mud to join in the fun

THOUSANDS of music lovers are descending on the Isle of Wight to enjoy performances from the likes of Rod Stewart, Arcade Fire, Run DMC and David Guetta at the first major festival of the summer.

Revellers were today seen queuing at the gates to the four-day event, which is set to welcome acts including former Spice Girl Melanie C, The Kooks, Razorlight, Alison Moyet, Rag 'N' Bone Man and Clean Bandit.

Thanks to this week's miserable weather, many festival-goers were spotted wearing wellies and novelty rain ponchos as they braved the mud - although the weather is set to improve over the weekend.

But the not-exactly-summery conditions today didn't hold anyone back - with groups of young women spotted enjoying fairground rides, drinking and dancing, as street performers including a flame-juggler delight the crowds.

Hampshire police say they will provide a "heightened presence" at the event at Seaclose Park, Newport, in response to the recent terrorist attacks and advised the public to be "alert but not alarmed".

Meanwhile festival organiser John Giddings has said the line-up is "one of the best" in the event's 16-year history since he relaunched the legendary festival of the early 1970s.

Other acts taking to the stage during the weekend include Bastille, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Zara Larsson, The Vamps, The Amazons, Starsailor, The Pretenders, Kaiser Chiefs, Imelda May and Scouting For Girls.

Since the festival was relaunched in 2002, world famous headline acts have included The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, REM, Coldplay, Blur and Foo Fighters.

The festival became famous when it hosted a series of events which culminated in 1970 with 600,000 hippies descending on the island to see Jimi Hendrix and other legendary acts.

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