Florence in Latitude line-up

BRIT Award winners Florence and the Machine were last night named as one of the headline acts at this summer's Latitude Festival.The critically-acclaimed band, led by songstress Florence Welch, will take centre stage at the Suffolk festival along with indie pop band Belle and Sebastian, New York indie rock quartet Vampire Weekend and Austral-ian electric music duo Empire of the Sun.

BRIT Award winners Florence and the Machine were last night named as one of the headline acts at this summer's Latitude Festival.

The critically-acclaimed band, led by songstress Florence Welch, will take centre stage at the Suffolk festival along with indie pop band Belle and Sebastian, New York indie rock quartet Vampire Weekend and Austral-ian electric music duo Empire of the Sun.

The Maccabees, an indie rock five-piece from Brighton, and Mexican musical duo Rodrigo y Gabriela also join the list of headliners performing at Latitude's obelisk arena.

Organisers say that more than 700 performers will be announced over the coming months. The event, on the Henham estate between Beccles and Southwold, is one of the region's most popular music and arts festivals and is back this summer for a fifth year, running from July 15-18.

Artists set to appear at the festival's Word arena include:

Grizzly Bear, a Brooklyn-based folk rock band.

French actress and singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg.

The National, a Brooklyn-based indie rock band.

The xx, a three-piece band from Wandsworth, in London.

With a full programme of performances from the worlds of poetry, theatre, comedy and literature, Latitude promises to offer much more than just music.

Comedians lined up to appear include Emo Philips, who has been described by US talk show host Jay Leno as “the best joke- writer in America”, award-winning Irish comic Tommy Tiernan

and festival favourite Marcus Brigstocke.

And festival-goers will be able to enjoy performances in the theatre arena from a line-up that includes the Royal Opera House, Royal Shake-speare Company, The Opera Group and London Sinfonietta, plus the English Touring Theatre Company.

Latitude regular Robin Ince will be reprising the book club for the literary arena and will be joined by American novelist Bret Easton Ellis for a reading and discussion of his new novel, Imperial Bedrooms.

Wendy Cope will be taking to the poetry arena alongside poet and author Blake Morrison and novelist and poet Jacob Polley.

Comedian Rich Fulcher will be performing in the cabaret arena and will be joined by Perrier Comedy Award winner Laura Solon and Idiots of Ants, who will be bringing their fast-paced sketch comedy to the festival. Radio DJ and presenter Mark Lamarr will be presenting his BBC Radio 2 show, God's Jukebox, in the music and film arena.

Melvin Benn, managing director of Latitude Festival organiser Festival Republic, said: “Five glorious years on and Latitude Festival continues to be everything I wanted it to be.

“The breadth and calibre of programming across the arts and music consistently astounds me, and I am delighted that Latitude has earned its place as a festival of choice for many.”

Tickets for Latitude are now on sale. Weekend tickets cost �155; subject to booking fee. Day tickets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday cost �65; subject to booking fee. Weekend ticket prices include car parking and camping. Day tickets include car parking only.

To book, call the credit card line 0871 2310846 or visit www.festivalrepublic.com, www.seetickets.com or www.latitudefestival.co.uk