Ireland's largest music festival Electric Picnic is under way in Co Laois today, with 75,000 people expected to attend the three-day festival in Stradbally.
The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary after debuting as a one-day event in 2004, with sets from Jurassic 5, Grand Master Flash, and Super Furry Animals entertaining the 10,000 attendees.
This year's line-up includes Kylie Minogue, Kneecap, The Wolfe Tones, Noah Kahan and Raye.
Calvin Harris, Jazzy, Kodaline and Faithless are also among the fifty acts who will play the sold-out weekend.
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For one year only, the Electric Picnic has moved to earlier dates in August.
In a "first" for a major music festival in both Ireland and the UK, organisers say the main stage will be connected to the grid, using renewable energy and reducing the Electric Picnic's carbon footprint.
Speaking to RTÉ News during a preview of the Electric Picnic site, festival director Melvin Benn said: "It is a little bit earlier [this year]. There were a couple of acts I particularly wanted to play, and I'm very pleased that we secured those acts... You can guess, I guess!
"It was a one-off. We're going back to the usual date next year. It feels strange being here in [the] middle of August, really."
Mr Benn also explained that the main stage will be powered by the national grid this weekend.
"We've brought mains electricity into the site. The Electric Picnic main stage will be the first ever [in Ireland and the UK] fully-powered by sustainable power," he added.
"And I'm delighted because it means that the electric picnic main stage will be the first ever, you know, fully powered by sustainable power.
"It's incredible, I'm really pleased about it. Every business in the world needs to start making big steps towards reducing the carbon that we're burning, and I'm glad that the Electric Picnic is showing the way.
"I certainly think we will be here for another 20 years," he concluded. "In fact, I got a call about that this afternoon..."
Organisers urge festival goers to use public transport or car share to Electric Picnic as travel emissions contribute to the festival's total carbon footprint.
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Weekend ticket holders can enter the general campsites from 9am on Friday 16 August. The campsite closes at 4pm on Monday 19 August.
"Drugs are illegal, and they are illegal for a reason. That reason is because they can cause death and serious harm" said Superintendent Eamonn Curley from Portlaoise Garda Station.
Superintendent Curley said that gardaí have been working with the Health Service Executive over the last couple of years to understand drug trends, including new opioids and stimulants.
"We're working with them to identify drug trends or dangerous drugs or harmful drugs which may become apparent over the course of the weekend," he said.
He said, however, that having the harm reduction team onsite "does not make drugs legal".
"If you are found with drugs you will face prosecution, and we have a dedicated drugs detection team on site working both overtly and covertly to detect the sale, supply and use of controlled drugs," he added.
The weather will generally be kind to music lovers this weekend, with today being mostly dry, with a mix of cloud and sunny spells and top temperatures of between 19 and 21C.
The temperatures are expected to reach 20C on Saturday and Sunday, depending on cloud coverage.
Met Éireann has warned that the UV index will be high, and has urged people attending the festival to ensure they are wearing sun cream.
