MYSTERY surrounds the headlining acts of one of the county's most successful events but that has not stopped festival-goers snapping up the first available tickets.

MYSTERY surrounds the headlining acts of one of the county's most successful events but that has not stopped festival-goers snapping up the first available tickets.

Last year, the Latitude Festival, organised by Mean Fiddler, was staged for the first time in the heat of the hottest weekends in the year and within the heart of rural Suffolk at Henham Park, near Southwold.

Following the success of the inaugural festival, its organisers have planned a bigger and better event and are so confident of its appeal that they started to sell pre-sale tickets yesterday despite the fact that the headlining acts are not yet known.

A Mean Fiddler spokesperson said: “It's giving people the chance who went last year and who enjoyed the atmosphere and the poetry, the chance to get tickets.

“They know they are going to have a good time no matter who is going to play there.”

Rumours on who is going to be the big name acts have been rife for the event that is due to be held from July 12 to 15.

Names such as Paul Weller, The Who and the Scissor Scissors have been linked with the festival that has won the acclaim of the best festival of 2006.

But both Mean Fiddler and Hektor Rous, who runs the estate, are keeping tight-lipped on the matter.

Mr Rous, 28, said: “I can't wait to see what they come up with next - last year's was just like the classiest BBQ you had ever been to just with Jose Gonzalez and Antony and the Johnsons there.

“If you wanted the festival of your dreams, Latitude would be it - they did an amazing job with the lights in the trees, the poetry, it was all very lush and chilled out.”

He said he thought that the festival would continue to grow and that the park had room for it to do so.

“It only took up about 20% of the park so even if it does grow, the site is big enough,” said Mr Rous. “The site's bigger than Glastonbury and there's just one owner so there's no nonsense like that.”

He said it was also so exciting seeing so many people come to the park and that he had seen the number of visitors increase from 150 in 2004 to an estimated 50,000, including Wings and Wheels and the Steam Rally, since he took over the management

kate.scotter@eadt.co.uk