Praise for '˜amazing' fans who made Victorious 2018 a hit '“ now '˜bring on 2019', say organisersÂ

Despite '˜horrendous' weather on Sunday, organisers behind the annual fixture in Southsea say they welcomed in the region of 50,000 revellers each day for 2018. 

And the majority of them '“ or so it would seem '“ united in front of the Common Stage last night to witness The Prodigy put on a show of megalithic proportions. 

There to lap up the set as the drum and bass outfit guided festivalgoers through their explosive discography was Spike Boxall, from Southsea. 

'˜There's no one like them,' he said. 

'˜I've seen them many times and they put on a proper show. They're out there and they've got their own groove going on.' 

A night earlier, it was Paul Weller and Paloma Faith who topped the bill across the Common and Castle Stages. 

The latter went down a hit with Catherine Jackson, who is in her 40s, who journeyed to Victorious from Hertfordshire. 

She said: '˜I just love her. We were up on the hill by the Victorious sign and we danced the evening away.'

On Friday, performances from a trio of much-loved rock bands got the festival rolling. 

'˜I love it here. What a way to start, with the Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines and the Lightning Seeds,' said 39-year-old Sabrina Taylor, from Southsea. 

She added: '˜It's such a great festival with so many top bands.'

While all three days of Victorious went down a treat with revellers, the event did face its challenges. 

On Friday night, a bus destined for the park-and-ride facility at Lakeside North Harbour burst into flames on the M275. 

On board was editor of The News, Mark Waldron, who said the incident brought initial '˜confusion' and '˜panic' '“ but no one was injured. 

A night later, festivalgoers were perplexed when a Portsmouth City Council noticeboard close to the Common read '˜seafront event cancelled due to high winds' '“ leading to rumours day three of Victorious was off. 

However, the authority apologised on Twitter on Sunday morning '“ putting it down to a '˜technical fault'. 

Finally, on day three came heavy rain and winds '“ but even this was not enough to deter thousands from enjoying the fun of the festival. 

Testament to their efforts, Victorious organiser, Andy Marsh, said: '˜Thank you to all the amazing people who withstood the weather '“ as well as all the crews, traders and everyone else involved. 

'˜Bring on 2019'. 

Post-festival clean-up efforts are expected to run into the afternoon today.