Cheering in the mud

Crowds of 85,000 people partied through three days of a rain-soaked T in the Park in Scotland last weekend.

Festival organisers praised a fantastic “camaraderie” as music fans saw stars The Stone Roses, Nicki Minaj, Snow Patrol and Calvin Harris, among dozens of other performers.

Much of the site at Balado, near Kinross, was turned into a mudbath, with one venue, the Slam tent, unable to open as scheduled.

Festival director Geoff Ellis said: “The weather definitely brought some challenges but we were prepared and our team worked extremely hard to keep things on track, which was no mean feat.

“The overwhelming response from those that were here was that, regardless of the rain, they had an absolutely amazing time, whether they saw Simple Minds or Calvin Harris. That’s not just down to a brilliant line-up − it’s also due to the enormous amount of planning that we undertake and the strong partnerships we have with emergency services and stewards.

“The sense of camaraderie was obvious throughout the day but when the Stone Roses took to the stage it went off the scale. This was the moment that so many people were waiting for and the fans sang their hearts out. It was amazing.”

Also on the bill across the three-day festival were The Happy Mondays, Elbow and violinist Nicola Benedetti.

Police at the festival said there had been a “positive attitude” and that drugs offences accounted for about three-quarters of all crime.