THERE’S something truly magical about the Isle of Wight Festival that ensures the crowds return to Seaclose Park in their droves every year.

The calibre and clever combination of headline acts appeal to a wide range of music lovers.

And the depth of talent performing across the four days can perhaps only be rivalled by Glastonbury.

From the moment you step on to the ferry, you know you’re in for a treat.

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And this year the sun was shining as boat after boat carried excited festival-goers across the Solent.

Festival organiser John Giddings knows his stuff.

The Prodigy brought the house down when they headlined on the Friday night six years ago.

So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The rave legends never disappoint so it was no different this year when they closed the first full day of the festival.

From 90s hit Firestarter to 2015’s Nasty, they rattled through their incredible back catalogue, demonstrating exactly why they’ve sold 25 million records and bringing day one to an explosive end.

Tens of thousands stuck it out at the main stage despite torrential rain which left them sopping for the rest of the weekend.

By contrast, Saturday night saw Britpop veterans Blur delight the crowd with a set taking in past hits such as Parklife, Girls and Boys and Tender as well as tracks from their new album, Magic Whip.

Popular frontman Damon Albarn received a rapturous welcome from a huge crowd, many of whom weren’t even born when the band battled it out with Oasis to top the charts.

The two-hour set ended with a tear-jerking rendition of The Universal and the biggest cheers of the festival so far.

Over the two days there's been something for everyone with American rock duo The Black Keys going down a storm, with You Me At Six, Ella Eyre, James Bay, and Kodaline among others to grace the main stage.

A bit of cheerful retro disco from Kool and the Gang, followed by a “Happy” performance from Pharrell Williams, defied anyone to be in a bad mood.

Even if you’re not mad about the line-up, it’s easy to spend a weekend enjoying the delights of the Intoxicated Tea Rooms, Hipshaker Lounge, Bohemian Woods or the new Strongbow Tree, to name but a few of the alternative attractions.

A fun time has been had by all and, at the time of writing, the highlight of the weekend hadn’t even taken place.

You could feel the anticipation as the festival built up to its climax – a long-awaited appearance from the legendary Fleetwood Mac.