A Poole festival organiser has praised the town’s spirit of optimism and togetherness ahead of the expected final lifting of lockdown restrictions on July 19.

Ben Dyas, Director of Poole Harbour Festival, said it had been a tough few months but he was greatly encouraged by the actions and messages of support of hundreds of willing festival-goers eager to return to live music and embrace the summer festival feeling.

He said: “The support of the people of Poole, and further afield, has been absolutely amazing.

“We have literally been inundated with requests for information, reservations and general messages of support.

“And not just on social media, but phone calls and even a few handwritten letters. I’ve never known anything like it.

“When we relaunched the festival back in March we had a rush of ticket sales as people were looking forward to a summer of getting out and being social again.

“Then when the lifting of restrictions was postponed last month we thought it would dry up, but it didn’t.

“So many people have been in touch to say how much they are looking forward to the festival and asking for tickets for friends and relatives – it has been quite touching and a bit emotional if I’m honest.”

The festival, at Baiter Park from July 30 to August 1, is expected to be one of the few family live music events of the summer.

It features 50 live acts on three stages headlined by 90s Britpop legends Dodgy and Toploader.

There’ll also be street food from around the world, walkabout acts, street entertainers and a full children’s programme including dinosaur shows, the Passion For Laughter street shows, Mad For Animals and the award-winning Jamie Jambo.

Ben said: “Poole Harbour Festival is a brilliant day the whole family can enjoy together and has become an established highlight of summer in Poole.

“We have a bigger site that means more space and better access to the main stage creating a safer environment for all our visitors.

“There are more bars, managed queuing systems and more loos.”

Poole Harbour Festival opens at 5pm on Friday July 30, noon on Saturday July 31 and 11am on Sunday August 1, closing at 11pm on Friday and Saturday and 7pm on Sunday.

The last few tickets are available now at pooleharbourfestival.com.