Belladrum Tartan Heart festival opens in Highlands

Families have started arriving for the opening day of Bella

The 20th Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival has opened in the Highlands.

About 25,000 people are expected to attend Bella, near Beauly, over its three days.

Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bexter and Teenage Fanclub were among the opening acts. Friday's headliners include James Arthur and Ocean Colour Scene, while Callum Beattie and Deacon Blue are among the main stage acts on Saturday.

Organisers said new traffic management and car parking arrangements would help to avoid congestion that affected previous festivals, including last year when some people waited five hours or more to get into the site on the opening day.

Sugababes, pictured at the MOBO Awards, are due to perform on Thursday night

First held in 2004, Bella has grown to become the Highlands' biggest music event.

The festival is held on the Belladrum Estate about 12 miles from Inverness.

It did not go ahead in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.

Each year it has theme. This year's is love.

Five weddings are due to take place at the festival over the weekend.

Sophie Ellis-Bexter is one of Thursday's main stage acts

Ellis-Bexter drew a huge crowd to the Hot House main stage.

She closed her set with her hit Murder on the Dance Floor.

And fans returned in force for Thursday’s headliners Sugababes.

Outside the big names, the acts included Highland Gospel Choir.

Their set featured the Skyfall Bond film theme and Skye Boat Song.

Highland Gospel Choir entertained their crowd with Bond themes and a Fatboy Slim cover

Love is this year’s theme

One of the many love themed signs around the site

Other acts this year include Nathan Evans, who shot to fame in late 2020 when a TikTok video of the 19th Century shanty Wellerman led to a record deal and a Number 1 single in several countries, including the UK.

Bella is also a date on Scottish folk/electronica band Niteworks' final tour.

The band was formed in Skye by school friends Allan MacDonald, Christopher Nicolson, Innes Strachan and Ruairidh Graham in 2007.

They announced last year they would be playing their last gigs during 2024.

Glasgow bands Twin Atlantic and The Vaselines are also in the line-up.

Cameron Ferguson won a talent search to open this year's festival

Belladrum's opening act this year was Cameron Ferguson.

The musician from Arabella, near Tain, won a talent search held by the festival organisers in collaboration with BBC ALBA.

Ferguson was chosen by a public vote to play on the main stage on Thursday.

BBC ALBA will have live coverage across the weekend available on the channel and BBC iPlayer.

Weather forecast and parking

Belladrum is known for being blessed with fine weather.

According to BBC Weather, temperatures could reach a high of 18C on all three days with sunshine and showers forecast at times for Thursday and Saturday.

Thursday night there was some mud on the dance floor after a heavy downpour.

Traffic congestion on the festival's opening day has been a major issue in recent years.

Organisers hope a number of measures could avoid long delays this weekend. The arrangements include:

• Colour-coded car parking passes to ease the arrival process and reduce the need to stop for directions

• Double the number of vehicle entrances from internal roads feeding into car parks for quicker clearing of public roads

• New pick-up and drop-off point for all buses, taxis and drop-offs

• Increased staff car parking area to reducing staff vehicles in public car parks

Belladrum's event producer Dougie Brown said: "The traffic was a major issue last year and something we definitely haven't shied away from.

"We have spent a year working with Highland Council, the police and roads department and have put a lot of procedures in place."

He added: "Twenty years is a special moment.

"We have everything from your big names like Deacon Blue and Sugababes to a programme of kids entertainment."