Why you should Support the Isle of Wight Festival 2021

Hands up if you're just grateful the Festival is going ahead

I'm going to stick my neck out and make a prediction about four things that will happen in the next few months, following the announcement that the Isle of Wight Festival 2021 is moving to mid-September. 

1. Over the next few weeks, several of the acts which had been booked to appear in June 2020 and June 2021 will be replaced due to diary clashes. Some musicians will have other gigs or just won't fancy the increased risk of rain at a September festival.  
2. Someone on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/MySpace will be furious that their favourite act has been dropped from the lineup and declare it the 'Worst. Lineup. Ever'. 
3. Someone else on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/MySpace will say that there are far too many old bands/new bands/bands we've seen before. The angry face emoji will be used repeatedly by Some Angry Guy from Shanklin. Someone else will call for a fixed link to the Island, even though it doesn't seem to have any relevance to the original post. 
4. Tens of thousands of people will turn up at Seaclose Park and have a great weekend. Everyone will get a bit cold, because they didn't pack enough warm clothes for being outdoors at midnight in September. It might rain.

As I've said on many previous occasions, the Isle of Wight Festival is a huge cultural boon for a small Island. It is also good value, as the tickets have been stuck at around the same price for a decade. 

Honestly, after spending a year mostly pottering around the house, I am not going to be complaining if it isn't my dream lineup. The Isle of Wight Festival is a business, its future is not guaranteed and we should be grateful that the Festival is taking place at all, considering that Glastonbury and Download have both been cancelled. 

I haven't sifted through the accounts for the Isle of Wight Festival but I don't imagine it is a huge leap to say that this last year has been tough. Live music has taken a battering from the Covid restrictions and if we want these events to still exist in five years' time we need to support them if we can afford to (of course, this rant doesn't apply to anyone who is suffering financially due to Covid).