Massive live entertainment company Live Nation have just bought a majority stake in the iconic Isle of Wight Festival.

Live Nation will work with Isle of Wight festival’s leaders John Giddings and Solo Music Agency in continuing the 45 year legacy of the Isle of Wight festival. The festival has been compared to Woodstock and is widely credited as the UK’s first major music festival having hosted Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sex Pistols and many more legendary acts old and new.

The Isle of Wight Festival’s founder, John Giddings said: “After 15 hugely successful and glorious years, we have been looking at how we can elevate and take the Isle of Wight Festival to the next level. This partnership with Live Nation will give us the ability to access the company’s scale and talent pool, bringing more acts and a better experience to the UK.”

Live Nation UK’s Chairman, Denis Desmond added: “John Giddings and the Solo team have developed the Isle of Wight Festival to be one of the most iconic festival brands in the world and it’s fantastic to be able to add it to our growing and diverse portfolio of festivals.”

With the Isle of Wight festival added to Live Nation’s global roster of live music and entertainment they now have a portfolio include over 86 events around the world. Live Nation already have stakes in Download, Lollapalooza, Reading & Leeds, Bonnaroo and many more, and now they have another internationally renowned  festival bringing 100 acts to eight stages on the Isle of Wight this summer. Roughly 42,000 people are expected to go and see acts like David Guetta, Run DMC, Arcade Fire and Rod Stewart.