On Monday 20 February, Oxegen 2006 was launched and the first acts (including headliners The Who and Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as Jester, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs) were officially announced.

[3] On Tuesday 28 February, Paul Weller and The Charlatans were announced alongside Pharrell, Editors, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Go!

However, following rain, strong wind, a low temperature, and general stormy conditions on the Saturday, the weather improved on Sunday afternoon with sunny skies and a cool, gentle breeze ensuring a decrease in wet festival-goers.

The Pet Sounds stage was on the Saturday night unexpectedly headlined by Kasabian who had remained unannounced as an official act in the lead up to the festival.

The weather caused numerous sound problems on the Saturday, noticeably at HARD-Fi's set in particular; the band were followed late in the afternoon by the arrival of Arctic Monkeys to a live Irish audience.

Before that Editors made the most of their promotion from their New Band Stage status of the previous year to deliver a performance that included songs from their debut album The Back Room - "Blood", "Munich", "All Sparks", "Bullets" - as well as a debut Oxegen performance for new song "Bones" which featured on their second album An End Has a Start and opened their Main Stage set on the Friday night of Oxegen 2008.

They opened their set with "Can't Stop", "Dani California", "Scar Tissue" and "Charlie" before finishing off the night with "By the Way", "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away".

"Celebrities spotted at Oxegen 2006 included actress Patsy Kensit with Killa Kela in the MTV tent.

Working in partnership with Kaleidoscope Productions, they presented a line-up of acclaimed international short films alongside up and coming Irish directors and provided a performance platform for innovative and experimental musicians.

[14] The Irish Times reported that representatives from the Pensions Board were to attend Oxegen 2006 in a bid to convince more young people to start saving for retirement.

At present, the previously lively official forum remains shut down, presumably as a result of postings on the message board which would generate negative publicity for the event.

As internet users reported on the event at boards.ie, Ireland's largest web-based discussion forum, MCD pressed for legal action to prevent such postings from surfacing.

[17] In response to negative postings about the festival on boards.ie, MCD sent a letter via their solicitors to the administrators of the site threatening legal action.

Because of MCD's legal threats, many bloggers and internet discussion board users believe the incidents at Oxegen were under-reported in the Irish media.

While MCD's Justin Green said that he was "ecstatic with the success of the event [in 2006], as are the Gardaí and Kildare County Council," questions arise over security and safety for patrons of the festival.