Isle of Wight's Great Wonderfest to be Britain's first socially distanced festival

Great Wonderfest, the Duxmore Farm-based event, will go ahead in 2020 in a very different format to what had been planned.

It'll take account of very different times.

It has moved to the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 28-30).

Scroll down for a link to pictures from the 2019 festival...

Organisers say families will be able to enjoy a new way of watching 'some great acts in a safe and spacious way'.

Families of up to six people will use a theatre-style system to pre-book a dedicated 3m x 3m pitch that is exclusively theirs for the day. There will be 1.5m gaps between pitches.

Organisers said line-up details would be announced very soon.

A spokesperson for the festival said: "With a main stage line-up that caters for all tastes and ages, families who finally want the chance to put the ‘social’ into social distancing this summer need to head to www.greatwonderfest.com and register their details as space is limited."

Wonderfest says the layout of the pitches has been precisely designed to allow safe access and will be distanced in accordance with the most up-to-date government advice, with friendly and professional stewards ensuring families remain safe at all times.

Festivalgoers will be able to ‘pimp’ their pitches, giving them a uniquely personal touch.

The festival will also maintain social distancing by making all transactions cashless. And hygiene will be the top priority, with extensive hand washing stations and toilet facilities throughout the site.

As campsites open up across the UK, Great Wonderfest has a range of options to stay onsite.

Safely spaced bell tents and tipis are available to hire from glamping experts, who will manage a safe and welcoming environment for campers.

Those with motorhomes and caravan can pre-book pitches in a campsite with premium sanitation facilities.

The spokesperson said: "Duxmore Farm is a large and beautiful festival site, however, due to guidelines ensuring customer safety, there are only a limited allocation of main arena pitches available, so festival-going families are advised to register their interest now by heading to www.greatwonderfest.com and signing-up for more information. "

As well as a dedicated customisable pitch, festivalgoers will be able to enjoy traditional festival entertainment and activities throughout the spacious site.

From a giant Ferris wheel offering incredible views across the Island, to a range of supervised safely-distanced outdoor family pursuits including forest school and circus skills, there will be festival fun tailored to meet the latest safety guidelines.

Click for pictures of family fun at Great Wonderfest 2019, which was headlined by Busted and The Vamps. Read more: 'It was a blast!' 

Food lovers are in for a treat with a specially devised food court encompassing three restaurants, each with generous outdoor seating plans that can be pre-booked for sittings throughout the day and night.

The spokesperson said: "Premium caterers will offer an exciting and varied menu with table service to ensure the highest food hygiene standards are maintained.

"Take-away food services will also be available, while drinks can be pre-ordered and delivered, cold, to your pitch.

"Great Wonderfest is confident it can deliver an exciting family festival experience in a safe and secure environment."

"The team behind Great Wonderfest comprises some of the festival industry’s most experienced promoters and festival producers.

"With months of careful consideration and detailed planning from some of the most highly regarded event professionals in the UK, Great Wonderfest is confident it can deliver an exciting family festival experience in a safe and secure environment.

The spokesperson said: "The Isle of Wight is known as 'Festival Island' so it seems fitting that the Great Wonderfest should be leading the way.

“We hope it will go a long way in helping our live event industry get back to its world-beating best."

Wayne Whittle, IW Council cabinet member for regeneration and business development, said: “It’s good to see an Island business with a long history of holding quality events using their initiative to devise a ground-breaking way to hold a festival this August.

"While we remain vigilant about the measures required to keep the public safe, we welcome Great Wonderfest’s strict safety planning and the investment in our economy at such an important time. We wish them every success.”