Festival-Goers Forced To Sleep In Cars As Isle Of Wight Festival Turns Into Mudbath
Friday, 22 June 2012
Written by Elliott Batte
Festival-goers at the Isle of Wight Festival have been left wet, stranded, and sleeping in their cars after torrential downpours turned the festival campsite into a swamp.
The nightmare began for fans as they drove from the ferries to the festival's carparks, which almost instantly became a humongous mud bath after a combination of heavy rain and hundreds of cars churned up the site, leaving it almost inaccessible to the thousands of fans still to descend upon the festival.
Lengthy queues spanned back to the ferry ports - resulting in massive delays - and some ferry companies have had to postpone many of their trips. Up to 600 people were also left stranded on ferries for hours, as heavy traffic meant they couldn’t disembark.
Fans are now being advised not to travel to the site by car, whilst organisers are offering to give refunds to those who won’t be using their tickets following the flooding - as it’s not just the carpark, but also the campsites which have become pools of rain and mud.
A spokesperson for the festival has told The Daily Mail: “If you are on the mainland we are advising people not to travel by car. There is a ferry service for foot passengers and this will be the easiest route. We are sorry for any disruptions caused.”
John Giddings, the festival’s promoter, has also spoken out about the disruptions, and said: “Believe me, I am doing everything in my power and the police are telling me to do everything in my power, because they want an emergency plan from me by Sunday about how we are going to get people out. If you've got your ticket I have to refund you if you send it back to me. I mean, that's outrageous. If someone has suffered that, I don't believe I should keep their money.”
Despite the terrible rain, widespread mud-baths, and heavy traffic, 50,000 people are still expected to descend upon the festival, and will be headlined by Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.
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