11/07/2008 03:25:00
T in the Park kicks off this evening, with 180 acts taking to the stage in Balado, in Perth and Kinross until Sunday night.
Main stage headliners The Verve, Rage Against the Machine and REM will join the likes of Amy Winehouse, The Fratellis, The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers to entertain more than 80,000 fans each day.
Tickets for the outdoor music event were snapped up within hours of going on sale. However, recent rumours claim that a few Edinburgh and Glasgow outlets have made a limited number of tickets available to latecomers.
This is the 15th T in the Park and organiser Geoff Ellis predicts it will be a great event. He told BBC News, "To go from humble beginnings 15 years ago to now being the fastest selling ticket probably in the world, certainly in the UK, as far as festivals go is very pleasing. It's the audience - they're what makes it special and the bands feed off the audience."
Last year, torrential rain caused traffic chaos at the event, with revelers experiencing water-logged car parks and long queues on the way to the site. And despite fears of bad weather this year, Mr Ellis was confident that 2007's difficulties would not repeat themselves.
"We spent a lot of money on drainage, particularly in the arena itself," he told BBC News.
The grass at the venue was also woven in a different way from normal park or farm grass, in order to minimise water and mud coming through.
To further ease traffic congestion, the T in the Park campsite was opened a day earlier on Thursday, making 2008 the first year that fans were allowed to camp at the site from the night before the festival started.