Headline acts were confirmed for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights as The Prodigy, Stereophonics, Simple Minds and Neil Young respectively.

[1] In February 2009 The Charlatans were announced as headline acts for The Big Top Arena, which has continued from 2008.

However lead singer Tim Burgess was given the extra role of curating Sunday's activity by choosing his favourite bands to perform there.

[15] It claimed that the band would be starting their European tour with the Isle of Wight Festival.

[19] So far, the Isle of Wight Festival has been shortlisted for the "Best Live Event" category of the 2009 NME Awards.