Coronavirus: Guernsey Vale Earth Fair announces entirely local line-up

The festival offers six stages from midnight to midday on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend

The Channel Islands' longest-running music festival has announced a line-up of more than 70 acts from the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

The Vale Earth Fair has been running since 1976 and usually features both local and visiting musicians.

However, due to the pandemic, organisers have focussed on staging bands only from the islands.

Yannic Bearder, from the Vale Earth Fair Collective, said: "It really shows what an amazing variety we have here."

He said they had considered looking to the Isle of Man, which has agreed an air bridge with Guernsey due to both Crown Dependencies being Covid-19 free and having similar policies and test and trace set-ups.

Guernsey's The Risk (left) and the Recks, from Sark, will headline the festival's main stage

However, Mr Bearder said: "Pretty much all of the home-grown acts we'd approached said they would play... with more acts still approaching us, it is a testament to the talent we have on such a small island."

Tom Girard, from BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands, said: "I think its great how a festival like the Vale Earth Fair, that normally features a mix of local and visiting artists, is able to not just happen this year but with an entirely local line-up.

"It has really got people buzzing and as excited for the festival as ever, if not more.

"Its also testament to just how much great music across all genres is being made in the islands and this is just a taste of what there is to enjoy on the island."

The festival takes place in and in the grounds of the Vale Castle

Staging an entirely local line-up has saved organisers fees relating to transporting and putting up visiting artists, meaning this year's ticket price has been reduced.

Money from this year's event, which is run by volunteers, will be donated to Free Tibet, the Burma Campaign UK and Safer Guernsey.