'˜Festival's appeal is down to how far Portsmouth area has grown'

Victorious director Andy Marsh said: ‘It’s just 
amazing. I am dumbfounded by it.

‘We started off trying to sell as many tickets as possible to people in Portsmouth, and to think it has now gone global is fantastic.

‘We just want everyone from all over the world to know about Portsmouth.

‘I never envisaged it would grow this much.

‘It was supposed to be something the people of Portsmouth could enjoy, which of course they still can.

‘But now Portsmouth ticks all the boxes. We’ve got a community-run football team, major attractions and we’ve got all of these bars and restaurants that are on the up.’

Meanwhile, Portsmouth City Council’s Tory traffic boss, Councillor Jim Fleming has revealed it will be operating a free minibus shuttle service for users of the Hayling Ferry this weekend to connect them from the ferry drop-off to a main bus route to Victorious.

As reported, a World Music Village will make its debut at the Southsea summer spectacle.

The arena is being put together by Arms Around The Child, an international charity based in Portsmouth, which works to support orphaned children.

The village will feature a headline DJ set from Neneh Cherry, the Grammy nominated, Swedish-born singer-songwriter best known for 1980s and 90s hits Buffalo Stance and 7 Seconds which saw her win an MTV Europe Music Award in 1994.

Next up, Natty will be bringing his urban music to the stage.

Make sure you don’t miss a performance from Liam Bailey, who has worked with superstars from DJ Fresh and Shy FX to Rita Ora and Tom Odell.

Liam combines American R&B, reggae sounds & vibrations, and blues.

The voice of Eva Lazarus will fill the field as her soulful sound spans across genres from reggae to drum and bass and soul.

Josh Osho joins the party situated somewhere between the boundaries of folk, blues and R&B.

The village will showcase different styles of dance and music throughout the day.