IT is full steam ahead for this year’s Latitude festival - with organisers promising a fun-packed weekend of music and entertainment.

Thousands of people are expected to descend on Henham Park, near Southwold, for the event, which runs until Sunday.

Melvin Benn, founder and creator of Latitude and managing director of Festival Republic, said he was confident it would not fall foul of the forecast heavy rainfall.

“There are no concerns about weather,” he said. “The sun is definitely out in Henham Park.

“The site looks fantastic actually. Everyone expects elements of doom and gloom about the weather but the truth is that the grass is green, everything is on time, the stages are up and the food traders and other stalls are arriving.

“We’ve had 20 minutes of rain since Monday. Everything is very comfortable and we are all in t-shirts,” he added.

The stages are now built and the on-site team have been finalising details over the last few days.

Campsites and car parks are also showing signs of life, with festival goers arriving from all corners of the country.

The festival, now in its seventh year, will see Bon Iver, Elbow and Paul Weller headline the main stage.

The event’s numerous arenas will show theatre performances, cabaret, films, and comedy sketches from the likes of Jack Dee and Tim Minchin and literature and poetry readings.

Organisers of Latitude have worked with Norfolk and Suffolk constabularies and Suffolk County Council to develop traffic management plans which aim to ease congestion.

Mr Benn added: “There are good plans to get into car parks and extra access ways to assist people getting in.”

Organisers estimate peak traffic flows are likely to be on the A12 northbound and the A145 southbound during the late morning and afternoon of today and tomorrow morning.

Tickets for tomorrow and Sunday are still available but tickets for Saturday are sold out at the 35,000 capacity site.