Dress code relaxed on black tie festival's first day

A black tie music and arts festival has relaxed its dress code for audience members on its opening day because of the current heatwave.

Henley Festival, which takes place annually on the riverside in Henley-on-Thames, runs until Sunday and is expected to attract about 27,000 people.

Boy George & Culture Club and Ezra Collective performed on Wednesday but festival organisers allowed people to take their jackets off if they wanted after temperatures hit 32C during the day.

Sugababes, Lulu, Alex James' Britpop Classical and Björn Again are amongst the other performers taking to the stage on the Oxfordshire-Berkshire border later in the week.

Organisers said the festival was "truly an experience like no other" and would also feature a DJ set of 90s anthems from Jo Whiley.

Soprano Emily Wishart, who graduated from the Royal College of Music last year, spoke to the BBC before she performed on Wednesday evening at what was her biggest show yet.

"You can't really underestimate how much these experiences are really helpful as performers, not only in terms of getting your name out there but just in terms of having the performance experience," she said.

"I think it's really nice that everyone will be donning all their finest clothes.

"It makes it feel a bit different and when you're preparing something like this, which is 45 minutes of classical music, that sort of feels quite right somehow."

The festival is sponsored by Berkshire-based investment company Hemani.