Isle of Wight Festival 2025: An Iconic Musical Celebration

Isle of Wight Festival 2026 returns to Seaclose Park, Newport from 18–21 June 2026, bringing four sun-chasing days of music, colour and classic British festival spirit to the Island. As you sail across the Solent and see the site rise beyond the treeline, the holiday feeling kicks in — then the music does the rest.

Founded in 1968 and reborn in 2002, the festival’s legend stretches from the countercultural heyday (Hendrix, The Doors, The Who) to today’s arena-ready stars. Recent editions set the bar with Sting, Stereophonics and Justin Timberlake headlining 2025 — a reminder that IOW blends icons with contemporary heavy hitters and discovery across its stages. Expect 2026’s line-up to be revealed closer to summer, with the same mix of heritage and now.

The atmosphere is effortlessly welcoming — families, friend crews and first-timers mingling across meadows and riverside paths. Food villages thread local favourites with global street-food, craft bars clink through golden hour, and crowd-pleasing production delivers big singalong moments after dark. With around 55,000 festivalgoers each year, it’s large enough to feel electric yet compact enough to wander between highlights with ease.

Building on 2025’s momentum, Isle of Wight’s most recent edition topped the bill with Sting, Stereophonics and Justin Timberlake, with heavyweight support from Faithless (closing Friday), The Script, Jess Glynne, Busted, Texas, Olly Murs, Alison Moyet, Clean Bandit, Example, James, Paul Heaton ft. Rianne Downey, plus crowd-pleasers like The Corrs, Amy Macdonald, Razorlight, The Saw Doctors, Supergrass, Yard Act and English Teacher — a snapshot of the festival’s mix of legacy icons and current chart heroes that sets a high bar for 2026’s reveal.

Stay under canvas in the main campsites or upgrade to Boutique Camping for pre-pitched bell tents, tipis and lodges with hot showers, pamper parlours and 24-hour reception — ideal if you want a little luxury between late nights and lake-side mornings. Off-site options range from B&Bs to seafront hotels if you prefer a quiet reset away from the arena.

Getting there is part of the fun. Foot passengers can zip from Southsea on the hovercraft or sail from Portsmouth/Southampton and connect straight onto festival shuttle buses to Newport; drivers can bring the car on Wightlink or Red Funnel ferries and follow the signed routes to parking by the campsites. Services run frequently across the weekend, with late-night shuttles keeping the island moving till the small hours.

With early birds snapped up and general sale due later in the year, now’s the time to rally the crew, plan your crossing and picture that first chorus breaking over Seaclose Park. Isle of Wight Festival 2026 is a postcard summer weekender: rich history, easy logistics, and big shared moments beneath a Suffolk-pink sky — only this one’s on an island.

Isle of Wight Festival 2026 Lineup

Gallery