Preparations are well underway for this year's Nearly Festival which is set to take place in Nicholas Everitt Park in Oulton Broad this weekend.

The festival was originally set to take place Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27 but had to be postponed until August 14 and August 15 due to the extension of Coronavirus restrictions until July 19.

1,500 people are set to descend on Nicholas Everitt Park this weekend and it promises to be a good weekend after hundreds of people were among sell-out crowds turning out for the inaugural event in 2019.

Lowestoft Journal: Crowds at the Nearly Festival of tribute bands at Oulton Broad in 2019.Crowds at the Nearly Festival of tribute bands at Oulton Broad in 2019. (Image: Archant 2019)

Ahead of the festival this weekend, organiser Danny Banthorpe described how good it is to be back.

He said: "It is great to be back because last year we were obviously forced to cancel and this year we had to postpone to August.

"It is quite a relief and feels like normality is slowly returning.

"It is also great for the staff and tribute acts because it is the first time many tribute acts have been able to perform again and the pandemic hit them hard."

Lowestoft Journal: Poster advertising the original dates for the festival.Poster advertising the original dates for the festival. (Image: Mick Howes)

The likes of Britney Spears, Oasis, Ed Sheeran, Queen and Take That will perform live on stage for the Nearly Festival Oulton Broad 2021.

Mr Banthorpe said it is a great day out for the family, saying: "It is a tongue and cheek day out for everyone with music from some of the greats who you may never be able to see live again.

"It is just a fun day for the family and we call it the Nearly Festival because it is nearly a festival but without all the camping."

Outdoor music events have been some of the hardest to organise this year because of the pandemic and this is no different for Mr Banthorpe.

He said: "It has been a stop and start process with preparation.

"There's been uncertainty and we've had to refund around 30pc of ticket holders.

"But we are looking at having 1,500 a day this year, with reduced capacity and a socially distanced mentality in place.

"We are just thankful for everyone's support and looking forward to it all now this weekend."