THIS year's Latitude Festival in Suffolk is set to be a sell-out, organisers have announced.After last year's inaugural event won massive praise nationwide, the festival at Henham Park, near Halesworth, once again looks set to lure in the crowds.

THIS year's Latitude Festival in Suffolk is set to be a sell-out, organisers have announced.

After last year's inaugural event won massive praise nationwide, the festival at Henham Park, near Halesworth, once again looks set to lure in the crowds.

Starting on Thursday, July 12, and finishing on Sunday, July 15, tickets have already sold out for the final day - when Arcade Fire headline.

Melvin Benn, one of the organisers, said the other days were expected to sell-out soon.

He said: “It's such a personal project for me. I set out to create a festival filled with all the things I loved in terms of art, music, theatre and comedy.

“The fact that we've outstripped last year shows that people loved what I wanted to create.”

Around 20,000 people are expected to flock to the Sunrise Coast for the event.

Dubbed as the festival for performing arts, it features some of the best comedians, poets and writers in the industry as well as some top musical acts.

There will be 117 bands playing at Latitude this year, including headliners Damien Rice, Damon Albarn's new band The Good, The Bad and The Queen and Arcade Fire. Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and the Magic Numbers are also in the line-up.

Mr Benn added: “We've got the best comedy line-up in the UK which will outstrip Edinburgh and the fact that BAFTA wanted to be part of it is really important.

“It's a very cultural festival with a wonderful feel and I can see no reason why it wouldn't be a sell out.”

Jon Dunn, who co-ordinated the music arenas, said: “There's so much on, the music arenas are reasonably strong and would be worth coming for alone for a lot of people but it's also so strong in the comedy tent and with the poetry and film - you would come even if you weren't a music fan.”

BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) will hold directors questions and answers sessions each night and top comedians Bill Bailey, Dylan Moran and Alan Carr headline the Comedy Arena.

Tania Harrison, curator of the cabaret, literature, comedy, poetry and theatre arenas, said: “I'm really excited - it just has such a lovely vibe and atmosphere and this year we've had so much more of an idea of what works.”