COMMENT: It's proof that Victorious is a big hitter of festival world

If there was any doubt that Victorious is now among the truly big hitters of the festival world, just look at the line-ups in the past few years.

In 2016 it attracted Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds, plus Manic Street Preachers and Mark Ronson. Then last year we were treated to the likes of Madness, Stereophonics, Elbow and chart-toppers Rita Ora and Olly Murs.

Now we can reveal that 2018 will see The Prodigy and former The Jam frontman Paul Weller topping the bill at this year’s Victorious, with The Libertines and Kaiser Chiefs kicking things off on the Friday of the three-day festival.

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These are big names, genuine heavyweights of the musical world – and in the case of The Prodigy, their appearance on Southsea Common in August will be a UK festival exclusive. That’s some coup.

A clearly delighted festival director Andy Marsh says: ‘We were determined to pull out all the stops and deliver something incredible and I’m proud to say I think it’s our best line-up yet.’

We can’t argue with that. It’s proof that Victorious has come a long way in a short time since it began life in 2012 as a much smaller event held in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Now we feel confident in saying it can hold its own with pretty much any other festival – even the mighty Glastonbury.

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Victorious is a success story that we should all celebrate. It brings a fantastic festival into our midst and offers entertainment for all the family in a friendly atmosphere at reasonable prices.

Then there’s the spin-off for the local economy.

What we also love about Victorious is that it hasn’t got too big for its boots. Giving a stage to local talent remains an important part of the festival.

It’s set to be a memorable summer. Our advice is to book your tickets quick before they sell out.