Sir Tom Jones says it will be ‘magnificent’ to perform as he joins Isle Of Wight festival lineup

Sir Tom Jones has said it will be ‘magnificent’ to perform again as he’s set to take to the stage for the upcoming 2021 Isle Of Wight festival.

The legendary singer, 80, has joined the likes of Liam Gallagher, Snow Patrol and Duran Duran on the lineup for the music event, which is scheduled to take place this September.

It comes after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking during an interview with The Mirror, Tom revealed that he’s ‘looking forward’ to being playing at a festival with ‘great history’.

He told the publication: ‘It’s got a great history and I’m proud to be part of the lineup this year. We are all looking forward to a magnificent time together, I can’t wait to be there with you all.’

Festival boss John Giddings confirmed the lineup on Friday, after the festival moved from its previously scheduled date in June. 

He said: ‘Tom is a gentleman and one of the old school. He can sing better than most new acts, he is extraordinary. He will turn up, sing the hits and the whole of the field will go wild.

‘All the young ones love him as he is on The Voice too.’

Other acts scheduled to perform include Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Kaiser Chiefs, David Guetta and The Script. 

John said that he and the rest of the festival team will be ‘watching and learning from the events taking place before us’ to ensure that attendees and performers will be safe amid the ongoing pandemic.

He added that he believes ‘most of the world would be vaccinated’ come September.

John explained: ‘If you put 50,000 people in a field they are not all going to wear masks. But you can’t have vaccinations as mandatory, that will be like a police state. Instead we will have to organise a testing system.’ 

He said that they will ‘put measures in place for people to feel safe to come to the event’, and although it might cost them a lot of money, they ‘would rather do it than not’.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously revealed his roadmap to get the UK out of lockdown last month.

The government hopes to lift all remaining restrictions by 21 June at the earliest.

If this happens, then larger events, such as concerts and festivals, will be allowed to ahead.

Other UK festivals such as Reading and Leeds and Parklife have also announced they will be returning later in the year.

However, the country’s biggest music event, Glastonbury, previously announced they were cancelling for the second year in a row, as have Download Festival.