Latitude: 20 moments for 20 years of festival

A lot can change in 20 years. Take Suffolk's Latitude Festival, for example.

When founder Melvin Benn launched it in 2006, it was a modest affair with a peak daily attendance of just 4,500 and some pink-coloured sheep.

Fast forward two decades, and it now attracts as many 45,000 festival goers every day – or 135,000 festival goers over the course of the weekend.

Over the years, the likes of Tom Jones, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Florence and the Machine and Sting have wowed the Henham Park crowd.

For the 20th edition, that job will fall to headliners David Byrne, Teddy Swims, and Lewis Capaldi, with each wanting to have their own special festival moment.

But what other key moments from the music and arts event's 20-year history spring to mind?

Arguably, the biggest moment in the story of Latitude Festival is its very first event, which had nine tented arenas covering comedy, music, theatre, literature and cabaret.

It was headlined by Snow Patrol, Anthony and the Johnsons and Mogwai, but also played host to singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini and music icon, Patti Smith.

Back then, weekend camping tickets were just £95 while day tickets would only set festival-goers back £40.

BBC journalist Andrew Woodger, who attended the inaugural festival, said at the time that the organisers must have been "delighted with their creation".

In 2009, none other than Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke played an exclusive and "rare" solo set on the Obelisk Stage as the festival's special guest.

It was reportedly his first-ever performance as a solo artist, but that did not stop him adding in some stripped-back versions of his band's songs, including Videotape and True Love Waits.

The 2010 edition of Latitude proved a particular treat for the 35,000 people lucky enough to be in attendance across the weekend.

On the Thursday night, Tom Jones performed a special set in the woods that proved so popular the area had to be closed off and fans had to be turned away.

The demand for the Welsh singer was so great, he made a second, unscheduled appearance on the main stage on Sunday in the lunchtime "special guest" slot.

2010 also marked the year that Framlingham schoolboy-turned-global megastar Ed Sheeran played in the small poetry tent.

It came just two months before the release of his huge debut album +.

The rest, as they say, is history. (More on him later)

It was also the year the formidable Florence and the Machine headlined.

Led by the ever-majestic and vocal powerhouse that is Florence Welch, the set mainly comprised songs from her debut album, Lungs.

In only her second headlining appearance, it showed she could draw, hold and entertain a crowd and successfully top the bill of a huge event, cementing her status as one of the UK's best musicians and performers.

She later went on to headline the Glastonbury Festival – but Latitude was one of her first.

For all of its great and memorable moments, however, 2010 also saw the safety of the family-friendly festival called into question.

A 19-year-old Norfolk woman reported being raped on the opening night of the event, before a 17-year-old from Suffolk said she had been raped in a tent on the Friday night.

The police launched investigations and carried out patrols with security staff at the festival and urged people to "stay with friends while at the event" as a precaution.

It wasn't the last time there were concerns over the safety of festivalgoers.

In 2019, Suffolk Police launched an investigation after a woman reported being the victim of a serious sexual assault.

Then, in 2022, a steward who had been dismissed from the festival "unlawfully" gained access back into the site before having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Alex Stokes, formerly of Burns Road in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was jailed for more than three years in 2025 after being found guilty.

Just briefly back to Ed Sheeran now.

Despite going on to conquer the globe, can you believe the staunch Ipswich Town supporter has never actually headlined the event?

He has, however, popped up on a couple of occasions with surprise, unannounced appearances, the first being at the iArena in 2015.

Then, in 2022, he joined Snow Patrol on the main stage to perform Bad Habits during their headline set.

One artist who started at the bottom before working their way up to the very top of the bill at Latitude is Paolo Nutini.

The Scottish artist, known for hits such as New Shoes and Last Request, performed a 30-minute afternoon set at the inaugural festival when he was a little-known talent.

But, by 2011, he was headlining the event, before being invited back to do the same again in 2023.

In 2019, Latitude came under fire from the RSPCA, Peta and other animal rights groups for dyeing its sheep bright pink.

The animals have become a signature sight at the event for the last 20 years, but the practice was labelled "ignorant and cruel".

Organisers, however, said the water-based dye was not harmful and that "sheep welfare" was "the farmers' priority".

Despite 20 years having passed since the first Latitude Festival, there have only actually been 19 events in that time.

That's because the Covid-19 pandemic meant it was unable to go ahead in 2020.

When it returned the following year, however, it was part of the government's Events Research Programme, acting as one of its test events.

Figures released after the festival revealed more than 1,000 attendees tested positive for Covid, out of about 37,000 visitors.

The opening night of the 2014 festival was meant to be headlined by Two Door Cinema Club but they were forced to pull out after singer Alex Trimble fell ill.

Lily Allen was soon announced as the last-minute replacement – a decision which did not go down well with some on social media.

But she had the last laugh, after her set was branded "triumphant" by the Daily Telegraph.

And it is not the only time a headline act has had to pull out last minute.

Snow Patrol were meant to top the bill on the Saturday of the 2019 festival but had to pull out due to injuries to band members.

They were replaced by steady festival stalwarts, Stereophonics.

That wasn't the only drama in 2019.

Performances had to be suspended for about an hour due to thunderstorms and lightning at Henham Park.

The temporary pause affected musicians on the Obelisk Arena Stage, the BBC Sounds Stage and the Lake stage.

As much as festivals are about the artists, they are equally about the people that put them there, the music-lovers who buy their records and go to their concerts.

And in 2025, they got to experience what it was like to perform in front of a crowd when 100 festival goers joined Gareth Malone on the Obelisk Arena for his second ever Latitude choir.

He'll be returning to do the same at this year's festival, too.

The year before, another festival-goer got to enjoy his five minutes (or five seconds) of fame.

David Matthews was watching the Lowestoft-raised The Darkness when frontman Justin Hawkins picked him out of the crowd.

The two had gone to school together at Kirkley High School.

"I remember you. You were one of the cool kids. I wanted to be David Matthews," he said, as Matthews' grinning face was picked up by the cameras and projected onto the stage's large screens.

That same year, in 2024, talented young poets from across the region also got the chance to be in the spotlight as part of Latitude and BBC Suffolk's inaugural Children's Poetry Competition.

It gave youngsters aged between 7 and 11 the opportunity to perform an original poem on the festival's opening night – and it's been held every year since.

This year will see six young wordsmiths - Sofia, Connie, Austin, Esme, Lizzy, and Alexia – read out their poems on the Waterfront Stage.

BBC Suffolk has long had a presence at the festival, not least through BBC Introducing, which champions unsigned and under-the-radar musicians.

And it was in 2010 when BBC Introducing in Suffolk was first asked to pick local acts worthy of performing at the event.

It has given undiscovered talent the chance to create their own festival moments ever since.

These days festival-goers can enjoy BBC Introducing's always eclectic selection of new artists at the Lavish Lounge.

While everyone from actors and musicians to artists and authors always play down the importance of awards… it certainly is nice to actually win one, isn't it?

Over the years Latitude has scooped numerous accolades, from best line-up to best family-friendly event.

But arguably the most important prize it was awarded came in 2017 when it won Best Major Festival at the UK Festival Awards.

Proof perhaps it could go toe-to-toe with festival juggernauts Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury, despite its size and still being a relatively new festival, in comparison.

And the final key moment in the event's history? Well, that accolade has surely got to be given to the upcoming 20th edition of Latitude Festival itself, hasn't it?

It will run from 23-26 July and, as well as the musicians already mentioned, will also feature comedians, Sara Pascoe and Jack Dee and poet, Dr John Cooper Clarke.

20 years is a long time but organiser Melvin Benn said its "essence and direction hasn't gone".

"It's incredible. Whenever you start a festival, you always hope that it's going to have a long life," he said.

"But actually keeping a festival going and keeping it relevant for 20 years is harder than people realise and that's why very few of them survive.

"When you create something that you adore so much, then you nurture it in the same way that you would nurture your kids; it's very much part and parcel of my life."

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