The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was held on August 26 - 31, 1970. It was held on Afton Down an area on the Western side of the Isle Of Wight. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the Isle Of Wight in between 1968 and 1970. It was widely acknowledged as the largest musical event of its time (until Summer Jam at Watkins Glen in 1973), greater than the attendance of Live Aid, Woodstock and Rock in Rio. The Guinness Book of Records has cited its attendance as 600,000, this is just above the organisers' estimate of 500,000.
The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 had already attracted a massive reputation by attracting acts such as Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan (in his first performance since his 1966 motorcycle accident) and The Who in its foundation years. The organisers Fiery Creations (apparently alias brothers Ronald Foulk and Raymond Foulk) were determined to make the 1970 event a legendary event. In this aim they enlisted the mercurial talents of Jimi Hendrix. With Jimi confirmed artists such as The Doors, The Who, Joan Baez, and Free willingly took up the chance to play on the Island. The event had a magnificent but impractical site, a strong but inconsistent line up and the logistical nightmare of transporting 600,000 on to the Island with a population of less than 100,000. The aftermath and commercial failings of the festival ensured it would be the last event of its kind on the Isle Of Wight for thirty-two years.
