Sky 3D to air Bestival, Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight and Bestival will become the first festivals in the world to be aired live in 3D this summer, as part of Sky's aim to become the main broadcast partner to music festivals.

From June 10, two hours of live coverage of the Isle of Wight festival will air on the Sky 3D channel every day, including performances from headline acts such as Kings of Leon, Kasabian, Foo Fighters and Pulp.

Sky 3D will also broadcast live coverage of Bestival, the Isle of Wight-based festival that runs in early September, featuring performances from The Cure, Brian Wilson and Primal Scream.

Sky Arts 1 will broadcast two hours of nightly highlights from both the festivals.

In addition, Sky Arts will air exclusive coverage of 10 more UK festivals, including Download, Hard Rock Calling, Latitude, Lovebox, High Voltage, Cambridge Folk Festival, Camp Bestival, Sonisphere, Cropredy and Rewind.

John Cassy, channel director of Sky Arts and Sky 3D, said: "The festivals we have chosen to partner attract some of the biggest and most exciting acts.

"We are particularly excited about Bestival and the Isle of Wight festivals, where we'll break new ground by bringing them to the life through 3D. Broadcasting live in 3D is an amazing opportunity to bring viewers closer than ever to the real festival experience."

In February, communications minister Ed Vaizey praised Sky's joint venture initiative to screen live coverage of the English National Opera's version of Lucrezia Borgia in 3D.