With the second ever Bestival taking place on the Isle of Wight in September, Jessica Bown chats to organiser Rob da Bank about fun, festivals and fancy-dress world records.

JB: This is only the second Bestival. How would you describe the experience to those who didn't make it last year?

RdB: The idea when we started out was to combine all the best bits of other festivals such as The Big Chill and Glastonbury. We've got lots of big name acts such as Super Furry Animals and The Magic Numbers, but I'm keen for Bestival to keep the boutique feel of a smaller festival. There are 10,000 tickets this year, which is a couple of thousands more than last year, but it can't get much bigger than that due to the size of the site.
Look out for mini Bestivals around the world though. We've had offers from places as diverse as Australia, Russia and the States and we're also looking at running them elsewhere in the UK.

Who can you expect to find there?

I was quite surprised by how young the crowd was last year - I'd say most people were in their 20s or early 30s. Basically, not as old as the Big Chill crowd and not as young as at Reading. Having said that, my 87-year-old grandpa was there too, so it definitely wasn't all kids. I've tried to make the line-up as diverse as possible. There'll be people there to see Lee Scratch Perry and others who prefer what Fabio and Grooverider do, so it should be a pretty eclectic bunch. There's definitely a family atmosphere though, particularly during the daytime.

Why the Isle of Wight?

I'm from the Southampton/Portsmouth area, so I knew the Isle of Wight well. But really it was just that we found the right site there - we looked at a lot of places around the country before deciding where to hold it. One other advantage is that apparently the Isle of Wight's the sunniest place in the UK, although I'm beginning to think we shouldn't say that just in case...

Are you making any major changes from last year?

There won't really be any major changes - site-wise it will look pretty similar. However, there will be a bit more to see and a few more crazy things going on. One thing I'm really looking forward to visiting is the new indie disco, which will be based around live acts. The line-up last year was quite dance orientated, so I've tried to broaden it out a bit this year. Hopefully, there's something for everyone.

What are your favourite festivals, other than Bestival of course?

Glastonbury is probably my favourite, although I also go to the Big Chill every year. I'd like to make it to some of the smaller ones such as Secret Garden and Lost Vagueness, but it's hard as I'm always so busy during the summer. I end up DJing at most of the bigger ones, but I've decided that I'm definitely going to try to make the time to go to some of the smaller ones too next year.

Where will you be spending most of your time during the festival?

Well, I spent most of last year running around the festival site dealing with crises. I booked the line-up myself but ended up seeing very little because I was just so busy all the time. I still really enjoyed it though. And things will hopefully be calmed this year anyway, so I should be out and about, hanging out and having fun.

Which acts are you most excited about?

I definitely want to see The Magic Numbers on Friday night. I'm really chuffed that they've done so well recently as I booked them ages ago in the hope that they'd get big enough to headline - and they have. I'm also excited about the Super Furry Animals and The Go! Team, who are one of my favourite live acts, and am looking forward to St Etienne and seeing Bez DJ. People went nuts for him at V Festival.

What's your best memory from last year?

It would have to be watching Basement Jaxx. I was backstage with my wife Josie, who is the creative director of Bestival, at the time and everyone went mad when they came on. It was incredible.

Have you got high hopes for the fancy dress world record attempt?

Actually, I'm just trying to get hold of the Guinness Book of Records people now to get them to judge it as a proper record attempt. It's just a bit of fun though, I don't even think there is a record for the biggest fancy dress party in the world at the moment...

What will you be going as?

Well, that would be telling... The loose theme is cowboys and indians, but I can't say what I'm going as at this stage. I have been for more than one fitting for my outfit though, which gives you an idea of how seriously I'm taking it!

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