Troubled Amy to star in V Festival

Tickets for this year's V Festival are set to sell in record time when they go on sale this week – after organisers revealed a stellar line-up to rival any other in its 13-year history.

Troubled soul sensation Amy Winehouse will be taking to the stage among some of the industry's biggest names at the extravaganza, organisers revealed today.

The 24-year-old Brit and Grammy Award-winner has announced she will be appearing at the festival after disappointing her loyal band of fans last year when she pulled out of performing at the 11th hour.

Thousands of fans were left disappointed when the tattooed star announced she would not be performing at the 48-hour extravaganza, just days before it started. She withdrew in a bid to deal with her well-publicised health problems and battles with drugs. But after a spell in rehab the star is determined to take to the stage for the 13th V Festival on August 16 and 17.

Tickets will be going on sale at 10am on Friday and are expected to be snapped up even faster than last year, when they were all sold within three hours.

Box office phone lines are expected to be jammed as tens of thousands of music fans try desperately to get their hands on tickets for the festival, which each year attracts around 80,000 people.

Each year, the grounds of Weston Park near Wolverhampton are transformed into a sea of tents and camping chairs.

The line-up this year also includes Muse, Girls Aloud, Kaiser Chiefs, Lenny Kravitz, Sugababes, Travis, The Hoosiers and Ian Brown. Bob Angus, festival director, said: "We are really proud of the line-up this year. "As we as a European exclusive performance by Muse, we have some truly fantastic established live acts mixed with some exciting newcomers."

Other acts including The Prodigy, Sugababes, Kings of Leon, Travis, and Welsh star Duffy will also be performing over four stages during the festival.

The event takes place over two days at Weston Park and at Chelmsford, Essex.

Box office staff working for festival organisres are bracing themselves for a buying frenzy for tickets, which are priced £145 for a weekend pass with camping, £125 without camping, and £70 for a day ticket.

Tickets for the event can be bought by logging on to either website – www.vfestival.com or www.gigsandtours.com