The Isle of Wight Festival is all over for another year, but with sunny weather, a top line-up, and a relaxed and friendly vibe, it looks like the three day event managed to live up to all the hype and excitement. The Isle of Wight Festival was revived in 2002 and has attracted some of the biggest names in rock. This year proved no exception - Snow Patrol, Groove Armada, Muse and of course, the Rolling Stones, playing their first UK festival in over 30 years.  | | Keane's Tom Chaplin |
For Keane's Tom Chaplin, the festival's heritage makes it special: "It's a real honour, this is a legendary festival and I'm delighted that it's been resurrected and done so incredibly well. And its more or less a local vibe for us- only a few hours on the tour bus to get here!" Watch more backstage interviews with BBC South Today's Sally Taylor. Red ArrowsOnto Saturday, and with the festival in full swing, local unsigned talent drew steady crowds to The Bandstand stage, with festival goers relaxing in the sun. On the main stage, Amy Winehouse, Wolfmother, Ash, Kasabian and Muse did the business for the enthusiastic crowd.  | | The Red Arrows' spectacular display |
And thrilling the entire audience in a totally different way were The Red Arrows. Their stunning 20 minute display, set to tracks such as REM's Man on the Moon, took death defiance to whole new level for the slightly woozy and sun-stroked crowd, craning their necks to see the jets' nail-biting near-misses, directly above the site. But for many festivals goers, Muse, in particular, was a highlight, with an amazing light-filled stage. The BandstandMore of the same on the Sunday, and as the festival got into full swing during the afternoon as Seaclose Park once again turned into a sea of people. During the festival weekend, the Island's population swells by half its usual number.  | | Over 50,000 people came to the Island |
The site itself was packed, as were the campsites, but as long as you weren't in a rush to get anywhere, it wasn't a problem. Highlights today were again too numerous to mention. Great local acts on The Bandstand stage continued to attract decent crowds all day. Programmed by local independent music college Platform One, stage organiser Dave Pontin said, "It's about putting the word out about what's going on here on the Island." The StonesThe main stage saw plently of action too, with energetic sets from Melanie C, the fantastic James Morrison, Paolo Nutini, Fratellis and Keane. But the band everyone was talking about was, of course, the Rolling Stones. Putting the 'rock' into the rock festival, the legendary band were said to have arrived en masse with their 200-strong entourage on a specially-chartered ferry from Lymington, but Mick Jagger and the boys were definitely worth waiting for. Amy Winehouse and Paolo Nutini were welcomed on stage for duets and the crowd got up close to the band thanks to a telescopic catwalk that extended into the audience.  | | The main stage |
Classic anthems like Brown Sugar, Satisfaction and Sympathy for the Devil were on the two-hour long set list. They closed the show in fine style, accompanied by a firework display and an audience of up to 60,000 people in the palm of their hand. The festival weekend wasn't completely without hitches. Counterfeit tickets caused Friday-night delays for some people arriving to the festival, resulting in up to a 90 minute wait to get on site. Festival goers who had bought the convincing-looking fake tickets - some having spent up to £300 - still had to be turned away. The sold-out event had strict capacity limits and licensing requirements, so only genuine ticket holders could be allowed in. This extra checking on the gate caused many people to miss some of Friday night's performers. The line-upWho played? This was the line-up: Friday 8 June: Snow Patrol, Groove Armada, The Feeling, Echo and the Bunnymen, Koopa
Saturday 9 June: Muse, Kasabian, Amy Winehouse, Ash, Wolfmother, Donovan, Arno Carstens, Carbon Silicon, The Thirst, The Menschen
Sunday 10 June: Rolling Stones, Keane, Paolo Nutini, The Fratellis, James Morrison, Melanie C, Country Joe McDonald, The Hedrons, Siniez | 
