Pearl Jam at Isle of Wight Festival (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Pearl Jam at Isle of Wight Festival

5:47am Friday 22nd June 2012 in National Entertainment News © Press Association 2013

Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are set to play for thousands of fans when they headline the Isle of Wight Festival.

Promoter John Giddings said he gets more excited every year as the event opened its gates for the 11th year since reviving the legendary, late-1960s festival featuring artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan.

The line-up is a mix of up-and-coming acts such as Zulu Winter and The Pierces through to more well-established names Katy B, Jessie J and Tinie Tempah, as well as Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Madness and Elbow.

This year a giant beach will help festival-goers enjoy the holiday atmosphere of the event.

Creating the artificial beach by the River Medina, which flows next to the site at Seaclose Park, Newport, involved bringing 400 tonnes of sand from nearby Bembridge beach and, to recreate the feel of a real British seaside resort.

Mr Giddings said: "It gets more exciting every year, not less exciting, because it obsesses me how I am going to make it more enjoyable for the guests."

He was confident that any rain during the weekend would not spoil the atmosphere.

But several hundred people heading to the festival were held on boats in the Solent on Thursday night amid traffic gridlock on the island. Mud caused by heavy rain led to parking and access problems at Seaclose Park, Newport, and prompted ferries to suspend their services because of the traffic backlog.

Three boats with about 600 people on board were being held in the Solent as ferry operator Wightlink waited for the traffic to clear to enable it to discharge passengers at Fishbourne.

The Isle of Wight Festival runs until Sunday.