Fatboy Slim and Louis Tomlinson play seaside festival

Fatboy Slim, Idles, and One Direction star Louis Tomlinson have taken to the stage on the first day of Victorious Festival.

The event has taken place on The Common and Castle Field in Southsea since 2014.

Snow Patrol, Lottery Winners, Maximo Park and Jess Glynne also played on Friday. Russell Howard headlined the Comedy stage alongside Suzi Ruffell and compere Emmanuel Sonubi.

The festival, which runs until Sunday, also includes Pixies, Jamie T, Wet Leg, Sugarbabes, Tom Walker, Biffy Clyro, and The Kooks.

The festival's organisers said Tomlinson "brought in one of the biggest crowds of the day with his first UK festival performance which included a rendition of 1D’s Drag Me Down".

He also ventured into the crowd, eliciting screams from his fans.

Fatboy Slim's "pyro and confetti-filled set" included his hits Praise You, Right Here Right Now, and Rockafeller Skank.

Festival organisers say Portsmouth has seen a significant economic benefit from Victorious, estimating the impact to be almost £20m in 2023 alone.

The seaside event is expected to attract up to 170,000 people over the bank holiday weekend.

Festival director James Ralls said: "Opening the gates to thousands of festival goers at our beautiful seaside location was amazing.

"The joy we get from seeing family and friends of all ages coming together year after year makes all the hard work worth it.

"Day one of Victorious Festival 2024 was one of our best yet and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the weekend brings."

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