Bestival 2013: Thousands don fancy dress and head to Isle of Wight-based festival

Revellers at Bestival 2012

Thousands of revellers will be boarding ferries today to join one of the last big parties of the summer at Bestival.

The Isle of Wight event is celebrating its 10th anniversary, with headline acts from Elton John, Snoop Dogg and Fatboy Slim.

Sir Elton's performance at Bestival had been put in doubt earlier this summer when he suffered appendicitis but the 66-year-old has pledged to be there.

More than 60,000 people will be attending the sell-out event which is run by Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank and his illustrator wife Josie which has become famous for its fancy dress parade and colourful set designs.

Other bands appearing during the weekend will be M.I.A., Franz Ferdinand, The Flaming Lips, Wu-Tang Clan, Chic featuring Nile Rodgers and Bombay Bicycle Club.

But as well as the 350 acts performing during the four days, a variety of entertainment is being put on across the festival's 10 fields including dancing lessons in the Spiegeltent, talks and demonstrations on developing eco-technologies in the Tomorrow's World field and comedy in the Amphitheatre.

There will also be a giant sculpture of Lionel Richie's head which was created using Kickstarter crowd-sourced funding by Hungry Castle.

A spokesman said: "Get in line for the most surreal experience par excellence.

"First you'll crawl through the cranial nerve to enter Lionel's brain.

"Inside his 'happy place' you'll find a phone that Lionel uses to speak and possibly sing to you."

Bestival has adopted a nautical theme this year which will be used for its fancy dress parade that passes through the festival site on Saturday afternoon.

As well as the normal festival camping, Bestival also offers luxury options from pre-pitched tent providers Tangerine Fields as well as the Boutique Campsites which provide a variety of options from yurts and tepees to "Beryl The Bespoke Bus".

There is also a spa with wood-powered hot tub and sauna provided by Bathing under the Sky.

Bestival runs from tomorrow to Sunday at Robin Hill Country Park.

PA