V Festival 'champions' British talent to celebrate 20th year

Headline acts this year include Kasabian and Calvin Harris

A music festival is set to "champion British talent" to mark its 20th year, organisers say.

V Festival, which is held at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, and Weston Park, Staffordshire, first took place in 1996 when Pulp and Paul Weller headlined.

This year will see Kasabian and Calvin Harris play the main stage.

Music fan Maurice Hyde, 56, from Chelmsford, said the event had become "commercialised" and was suffering from increased competition.

Festival director Simon Moran said: "We wanted to champion British talent at this year's festival and with the likes of Calvin and Kasabian leading the way we don't think it'll disappoint.."

He added the event had achieved an "incredible" amount during its two decades.

"When we started out in '96, we were two stages and one tent, with the northern site only hosting one day of acts," he said.

"Since then we've hosted some of the most iconic acts from around the world."

However, Mr Hyde, who runs the Chelmsford Rocks website, believes the festival no longer has the top pick of the bands.

"There are festivals all over the world, and the choice of available bands has been watered down," he said.

"It can be difficult to book in the best groups. While it carries on like that, they won't sell out, and if things don't change, the V Festival could come to an end."

In 1996 when the festival began, organisers produced two programmes

Programme covers for the festival in 1998 and 2001 show a selection of the acts who graced the stages

The idea for V Festival reportedly came from Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker, who suggested holding an event at two outdoor locations on the same weekend and swapping bands.

Headline acts over the years have included Blur in 1997, Oasis in 2005, and The Killers in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2014.

Organisers said they expected a total of 250,000 people to attend both sites over the weekend.