THE organiser of Wickham Festival has said it’s “business as usual” as the crew gets soaked in the rain setting up for the four-day event.

The folk festival is starting to take shape with the first campers arriving from 10am on Wednesday, August 2, despite the wet and windy weather.

Thousands of visitors will flock to the music and arts event from Thursday, August 3 to Sunday, August 6 to see acts such as The Proclaimers, Midge Ure and returning favourites The Saw Doctors.

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Ahead of the first day, organiser Peter Chegwyn said: “We’ve had wind and rain all day but the show goes on. I’ve seen other events being cancelled for the weekend but our whole festival is going ahead as planned – we planned ahead for the weather and have dealt with much worse.

“All six stages have big tops so they won’t get wet. We’re just having to carry on, it’s business as usual. It’s the Great British Summer.

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“I have around 300 volunteers and a couple of dozen in the stage crew and they’re all amazing. They’re getting soaked. We’re really lucky to have them and couldn’t do it without the generosity of our volunteers.

“There are some amazing artists this year. Personally, I love the Saw Doctors but for people looking for some nostalgia we’ve got Midge Ure on Sunday. Wickham has this great mix of nostalgia and Celtic acts but most of all I love to see everybody’s smiling faces.”

Other artists include Mary Black and Mary Coughlan on Friday, Fisherman’s Friends on Saturday along with Eric Bibb and folk musician Barbara Dickson.

Sunday sees the return of regulars the South (formerly the Beautiful South), The Zombies and Toyah and Robert Fripp.

Tickets are still available online and will be on sale at the gate too. For more information go to wickhamfestival.co.uk/.