Fans head for Isle of Wight show

Festivals guide 2007

More than 30,000 fans are expected at the Isle of Wight music festival this weekend, with veteran rockers the Rolling Stones topping the bill.

It will be the band's first UK festival date since Knebworth Fair in 1976.

This year's festival is the sixth since it was revived in 2002, 30 years after its 1960s heyday.

Other bands performing include Muse, Keane, Snow Patrol and Amy Winehouse. The event runs until Sunday at Seaclose Park, Newport.

The Stones kicked off the latest leg of their Bigger Bang tour in Belgium on Tuesday and perform in the Dutch city of Nijmegen on Friday.

'Unique location'

The band will perform shows at the O2 arena - the former Millennium Dome - in London in August.

Festival organiser John Giddings said he was "proud to be offered the chance to contribute to the island's musical heritage".

"The unique location brings out the best in artists. It relaxes them and contributes to some stunning performances."

Rock fans are also heading to the Download Festival in Donington Park, Derbyshire, which also starts on Friday.

Its headliners include My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and Iron Maiden.

And an estimated 35,000 people are expected to descend on the shores of Loch Ness on Saturday to see the Manic Street Preachers, the Chemical Brothers and The Feeling headline the two-day Rockness event.