ISLE of Wight ferry firm Wightlink is bracing itself for a "huge surge" in booking now the headline acts for the Island festival have been announced.
American rockers REM have been unveiled as the main draw along with Irish group Snow Patrol, who are returning for the second year running, and Embrace whose current album Out of Nothing has gone multi-platinum.
With 35,000 tickets available to fans each day, all Wightlink's FastCats to Ryde and car ferries to Fishbourne and Yarmouth are forecast to be running flat-out.
Wightlink bosses are also looking ahead to other major Island events such as the Cowes Week Regatta and the Bestival event to boost their balance sheet.
Janet Saville, marketing director of Wightlink, said: "We work with the organisers of these major events on the Island to not only help promote them, but also to be the lifeline that transports both the participants and the visitors to and from the Island.
"We are looking forward to a bumper year."
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