Truck Festival opens to record number of revellers
BBCOxfordshire's largest music festival is set to celebrate its biggest ever year, with record crowds arriving for the first day of Truck Festival.
Truck 2026 is taking place at Hill Farm in Steventon, Oxfordshire, from 23 to 26 July, with indie bands The Maccabees, Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats all headlining over the weekend.
Ahead of the festival's wider start on Friday, some people with early access tickets arrived on Thursday - where they were entertained by Irish artist CMAT on the main stage.
Festival organisers told the BBC on Thursday they were expecting record crowds of 27,500 over the weekend - all as the UK continues to enjoy warm weather.
Festival coordinator Jasmine Dunston said: "It's the biggest one we've done, but we're all very excited."
"You could call it a 'monster Truck'."
As the crowds arrived on Thursday, one group from Windsor said they kept coming back to Truck for "the atmosphere".
"It's nice because it's a slightly smaller festival so everything's closer by and it's just a lot easier. It's great fun," they added.
Another pair of visitors heading through the gates said they liked the festival because it was "just so chill".
"It's family vibes and the music is always good - it's like throwbacks this year for us from when we were in our teens so that's exciting."
The festival comes as the UK enjoys one of the warmest and driest summers in living memory.
"We're encouraging people to drink water, seek shade when you can and look after your fellow truckers," Dunston said.
"Most importantly, make sure you wear sunblock - we've got a little bit of after sun if needed."
Dunston added the festival's health and safety team had been "working to all the guidance and regulations that are needed to make sure it is safe for everyone this year".
On how they would be dealing with the ongoing warm weather, one festival goer said they were "prepared", while another offered a simple answer to combat the heat: "Plenty of suncream. Plenty of beer."