Recently Isle of Wight Festival announced they would be changing the dates for their 2018 event – to 21st-24th June.
While some people wondered if this was a move to try and capture part of the Glastonbury audience (they’d be left wanting as Glastonbury won’t be on in 2018), others were unhappy about moving it from earlier in June (it ran 6-11 June 2017) to later, as the last time the Festival moved its dates it rained loads.
Round the Island
Following the Round the Island race this weekend, it’s now been noticed that Round the Island 2018 will fall on the Saturday that Isle of Wight Festival have shifted their dates on to.
This year’s race saw 1,342 craft setting off from Cowes to sail around the Isle of Wight. It’s a stunning sight enjoyed by Islanders and visitors alike, but it also brings some disruptions to the Island’s ferry services – understandable given the scale of the event – as the racing yachts and ferries have to negotiate the water ways between themselves.
The impact, if any
If previous years of Isle of Wight Festival are anything to go by, most of the festival-goers will onsite by the Saturday – and unlikely to want to be travelling during the race start, early on Saturday morning.
More likely to cause an impact is the accommodation, as both events are popular and the possible dilemma for fans of both events who will have to choose between. One upside could be the race goers venturing out of Cowes and taking in the acts at the festival.
Set five years in advance
The date of Round the Island has to be selected to match the tides that are best for the yachts sailing and are set and published five years in advance, so cruise and shipping companies can make plan around it. Given that, it’s hard to see how that date could be changed.
For reference, the upcoming dates for Round The Island are:
2019 – Saturday June 29th
2020 – Saturday May 30th
2021 – Saturday July 3rd
2022 – Saturday June 25th
Wondering if it was considered
OnTheWight News have contacted Isle of Wight Festival asking them if they were aware of the 2018 Round the Island Race dates when they chose to shift the event dates and are awaiting their response.
Thanks to Suzanne for the pointer on this one.
Image: © Atmos Dylan Roberts
