Electric Picnic: Crowd to exceed 50,000 at sold-out festival

For the first time in its 11-year history, the Electric Picnic will have more than 50,000 people on site at Stradbally, Co Laois, this weekend.

What started off as a one-day event in 2004 has become the undisputed king of Irish summer festivals. Even if it is early autumn, it will feel a little like summer - with the weather set to be fair for the weekend.

The festival is now more than twice the size it was when just 22,000 passed through the gates as recently as 2012.

As Ireland’s fortunes have improved since the depth of the recession, so too have the fortunes of the Electric Picnic.

Expanded capacity

All 47,000 tickets for the newly expanded capacity sold out by June. The rest of those present will be made up of 4,000 staff and musicians.

The only tickets left available are for those prepared to complete the Tour de Picnic - which involves a donation to charity of €380 and an 80km cycle or 15km run to Stradbally.

The campsites and arena areas at the festival have been expanded, and a new traffic plan is in place.

Festival organiser Melvin Benn identifies Blur's headline set on Saturday night as potentially the musical highlight of the festival.

The band surprised even themselves by making a comeback with their successful new album The Magic Whip.

On Friday the main stage will be headlined by Underworld, while on Sunday night, Glastonbury headliners Florence and the Machine will close the weekend.

Body paint

Benn expects Grace Jones to be a big draw on Friday evening. "I just got a phone call from Grace Jones's agent last night who told me how wonderful she looks with nothing on except her body paint and that's how she will perform. I'm sure there will be a large crowd to see her," he said.

The most conspicuous new feature of the festival this year is the 3Penthouse, a temporary two-storey structure sponsored by mobile phone firm 3, with a balcony to accommodate 100 people with the best views available “in the house”.

“It will give a different experience for festival-goers,” said 3 Mobile sponsorship manager Gavin McAllister. He described it as an “imaginarium where adults can indulge their inner child”.

Las Vegas chapel

Other surreal additions to the festival will be the Trailer Park featuring Jimmy Lee, a Deep South-style shack, a crashed London bus submerged in a hollow, a Las Vegas chapel in a caravan and a funeral parlour which is a "warped take on what you might get at Massey Brothers", said organiser Hugo Jellett.

The Magic Mush Room is also a first time event at the festival. The public will be invited to participate in watching the magic being taken out of magic tricks.

The Electric Picnic will also have a laundrette on site, though mud is unlikely to be an issue.

The weather is looking good for the weekend, with a forecast for temperatures of between 15 and 18 degrees.

It will be warmer than the rest of the week and, most importantly, dry. Gates open for camper vans on Thursday and for the rest on Friday morning.