Victorious Festival: It'll be remembered for The Mary Wallopers controversy - but my favourite act was not supposed to be there

This year’s three-day event found itself hitting national headlines after The Mary Wallopers were booted from the Common Stage after displaying a Palestine flag on the stage - something which against the event’s rules.

Whether they knew the rules or chose to ignore the rules has been up for debate over the weekend, but if Victorious didn’t enforce it then they will be opening themselves up to other acts ignoring the rules in the future so in many ways their hand was forced whether you agree it was the right thing to do or not.

I’ll defend everyone’s right to have an opinion, but those are the rules you sign up for whether you are on the stage or in the crowd. If you do not agree with the rules then you just don't go in the first place, which is a perfectly valid decision too. Music and politics have always been linked for many artists, but Victorious wants to keep politics out of it and it is up to the public if they agree with this stance.

With a total of four acts not performing as a result, the biggest losers were of course the fans who had paid good money to see them. On top of this comedian Chris McCausland also announced he would no longer performing at Victorious due to illness, just to add to the chaos.

But the flip side, this meant that two of our city’s acts were given the chance to shine as they stepped into the gaps created.

Portsmouth heroes of Victorious

Crystal Tides - who must be at the top of the Victorious team’s speed dial - jumped in at the last minute to fill the vacant comedy slot, much to the delight of fans who had lamented the fact they were not performing this year.

But the real superstar was Marley Blandford who filled not just one, but two, of the empty slots amid the chaos. It was all a bit odd when the endearing Marley just appeared on the stage in front of fans waiting for Shed Seven and introduced himself. His name wasn’t even displaying on the screen at the start of his set, and we had no idea what was going on as organisers shuffled things around.

But Marley pulled it out of the bag with a mix of his own songs as well as covers - and having a crowd singing Bohemian Rhapsody I think should be a requirement at any music festival! The new ‘hero of Victorious’ then also played at the Under The Trees stage and was given a warm welcome which was lovely to see.

New layout and changes

Away from the controversy, it was great to see the Kids Arena proving to be so popular this year - and many families were taking full advantage of the £6 meal deals for kids (more of those next year please Victorious!).

Of course, the new layout as a result of the sea defences caused confusion for some people who were unable to immediately find the relocated loos near the Common Stage. And the repositioning of the premium area and creation of the (rather lovely) new-look viewing platform also caught some people out.

The comedy tent was sorely missed this year with Joel Dommett in particular struggling to connect to the wider audience of the Common Stage, but I’m certain it will return next year and bring back the right atmosphere again.

My favourite moments

Which brings me onto my favourite performances - as it goes without saying Kings of Leon were the act of the weekend for so many who were thrilled to see the American superstars take to the stage. And they are certainly worthy of that plaudit.

I loved the atmosphere created by Rizzle Kicks, Scouting for Girls and Craig David who really got the crowd going and just showed how much fun a festival is supposed to be.

And Travis were simply spell-blinding with a fantastic set which had the audience eating of their hands, singing along to so many of their hits which you had long-forgotten about.

But for me the act of the weekend was not even originally on the line-up. Standing in as a late replacement for Michael Kiwanuka, Kaiser Chiefs were, without a doubt, brilliant and just bursting with fun and energy which really got Southsea Common rocking.

Last time they performed at Victorious I said then that they could easily headline the festival - and after seeing them perform this weekend it just reinforces my view.

So, Victorious may not have turned out exactly as was originally planned, but in the end maybe it was even better as a result.