The T in the Park party is under way, with thousands of music fans arriving for the opening of the campsite.
Thursday’s early wave were greeted with warm sunshine at the site at Strathallan Estate, with organisers hoping lessons have been learnt from last year’s event which saw chaos on the roads surrounding the site and led to complaints concerning transport and signage issues.
The situation was so bad on the Saturday evening that there were long queues of traffic with some people being trapped in their vehicles for up to eight hours.
As a result, T in the Park chiefs rolled out a new transport plan, which includes a dedicated site for a shuttle bus at Perth bus station, a new transport manager, and separate roads for buses along with a dedicated pick-up and drop-off point.
Festival organisers have also downsized the capacity crowd at this year’s T in the Park from 85,000 to 70,000.
The three days of music start on Friday and top acts include the Stone Roses, Calvin Harris, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Morrison and Faithless.
Calum Park, of South Lanarkshire, was one of the first arrivals at the site.
He said: “I’m excited for T in the Park as it’s an incredible weekend to be surrounded by great mates, great music, and have lots of fun and just have a really amazing time.”
Meghan King, of Glasgow, added: “I’m buzzing for everybody to come together, to enjoy the music and have a great weekend.”
Festival director Geoff Ellis said: “The moment we open the T in the Park campsite gates and welcome the first campers is always my favourite part of the weekend. It’s an amazing feeling to see the first festival fans arrive.
“There was a phenomenal atmosphere today, and a great sense of excitement amongst the campers. T in the Park fans are truly the best audience in the world.”
George Kyle, of sponsor Tennent’s Lager, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome the first campers to T in the Park 2016. The site looks great, the sun is shining and the atmosphere is incredible.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said they had “no issues” following the opening of the gates at T in the Park.
“The main gates opened just before 12.30pm,” he said.
“The weather is fine and everyone is in good spirits, especially those at the bus station. We’ve had no problems so far.”
