Covid: Isle of Wight Festival 2021 line-up announced

The Isle of Wight Festival did not take place in 2020

Liam Gallagher, Snow Patrol and Duran Duran are among the headline acts for the resheduled Isle of Wight Festival, organisers have said.

The festival was cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was originally rescheduled for June, but will now take place in September.

Promoter John Giddings said he would be "watching and learning" from other events taking place during the summer.

The festival's capacity has been reduced by 5,000 to 50,000.

Other acts booked for the event at Seaclose Park in Newport from 16 to 19 September, are David Guetta, Tom Jones and The Script.

Gary Lightbody and Snow Patrol are set to make a return to the Isle of Wight Festival

The Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the UK's summer festival season and other festivals, including Glastonbury, have cancelled their 2021 events.

The Isle of Wight is among several, including Camp Bestival in Dorset and Creamfields in Cheshire, that have put tickets on sale, with the vaccination programme under way and mass testing available.

Mr Giddings said the festival had attracted a "fantastic array of artists".

"Over the coming months we'll be watching and learning from the events taking place before us and, of course, liaising with all the relevant authorities to make sure everyone - audience, artists, staff, the community - is kept safe," he added.

The Isle of Wight Festival was first held in 1968, and was abandoned after crowd chaos at the infamous 1970 event, which drew an estimated 600,000-strong audience.

It was revived at its current location in Newport in 2002.

• THE R NUMBER: What it means and why it matters

• SUPPORT BUBBLES: What are they and who can be in yours?

• TEST AND TRACE: How does it work?

• SCHOOLS: What will happen if children catch coronavirus?

• TESTING: What tests are available?