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Bay festival under way on Isle of Man

The three-day Bay Festival has kicked off on the Isle of Man, with big names such as JLS and The Saturdays performing on the opening night. About 30,000 people are expected at the festival, which runs until Sunday in Noble’s Park, Douglas. Fans turning up on Saturday will be able to see X Factor stars Eoghan Quigg, Olly Murs and Ruth Lorenzo. Bands from the island also on the bill include Maldune, A Little Bitta’ Rosie and RedGap. The festival is being organised by Jamie Irving, whose father organised the Peel Bay Festival in 2007, which attracted 25,000 people. This year there will be four shows and 30 different artists over the three days. BBC

IOM Today: FOLLOWING months of hype, the Manx Telecom Bay Festival finally gets under way today (Friday).

The three-day festival will see a total of 30 acts – both contemporary and from the 80s –take to the specially constructed stage inside a massive tent at Noble’s Park.

Former X Factor contestants JLS, who have since won Best Newcomer and Best Song at the 2009 MOBOs, will be headlining tonight with The Saturdays and Lemar. Tomorrow sees Spandau Ballet, Diversity, The Feeling, Calvin Harris and DJ Ironik.

The Island’s Battle of the Bands winner RedGap will also play, supported by their fellow Island Headliner finalists – Little Bitta’ Rosie, Maldune and The Heights.

In addition, the organisers are providing a festival taster for young people. Youngsters under the age of 14 can get into the festival for free before 2.30pm during the festival on Saturday if they are accompanied by an adult holding an all day Saturday ticket. The taster runs from 1pm to 5.30pm and includes the Manx Lifestyle Festival, featuring special acts and entertainment such as Vikings of Mann, jugglers, magicians, musicians and stilt walkers.

Aromatherapists, Indian head masseurs, Tarot readers and Manx Bach Flower Remedies will also be featured at the site, not to mention face painting for the kids. On Sunday afternoon from 1pm there is a whole host of acts from The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent lined up. Olly Murs, Eoghan Quigg, Ruth Lorenzo, Stavros Flatley, George Sampson and Signature will entertain the masses throughout the day.

And then the evening, from 6pm, sees the Here and Now best of the 80s show, with three and a half hours of non-stop hits. The line up includes Rick Astley, Boy George, Belinda Carlisle, Kim Wilde, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Cutting Crew and The Real Thing.
Peter Dickson, otherwise known as ‘Voiceover Man’ and the voice of E4, will compere the festival.

The venue also houses a two-storey inflatable cube with TV screens, couches and a staircase. There will also be four massive screens and licensed bars. There is also the chance to have your photo taken with the Barclays Premier League Trophy in return for a donation to The Children’s Centre.

After the festival grew in size, the organisers were concerned that there was a shortage of dressing rooms for the acts. They appealed to owners of Winnebagos, luxury horse boxes and motor homes to get in touch. The first festival – the Peel Bay Festival – was launched to celebrate the centenary TT but was abandoned the following year after a row with the government over funding.

For more information go to www.bayfestival.im