Manx Telecom's sponsorship of the Isle of Man Bay Festival next year is 'a marriage made in heaven', according to the event's promoters, Street Heritage.

MT says the festival will give it an opportunity to use the latest telecoms technologies, as it promotes the event on the Island, and further afield.

The sponsorship is great news for Street Heritage, which says the festival has the potential to become an annual event, particularly following the change of location, from Peel to Douglas.

Sales and Marketing Director for Manx Telecom Andy Bridson says MT's parent company O2 has a fantastic track record backing live music elsewhere, from which the Island will benefit.

He told Manx Radio:

"We are pretty close to O2 UK and O2 Ireland.

"Both have arenas [and] both [are] big into promoting music and promoting big bands.

"O2 are very open with Manx Telecom. It's, I think, one of the biggest advantages we have about being part of O2 is that they will share anything they are developing, anything they have researched [and] anything they learn they are always very ready to share with us.

"So we'll be able now to go to 02 and say 'OK, this is what we are going to do in the Isle of Man, what lessons have you learned over the last two to three years running big shows like this at the Millennium Dome, and what can we gain from that?'"

Manx Radio has secured an official tie-in to the festival and will be heavily involved in promoting the event.

Business Director John Marsom says the support role is a great 'fit' for the station:

"Two years ago we were quite a major partner with Street Heritage on the original Peel Bay Festival.

"It was an absolutely stunning event - it was a bit of a whirlwind getting it all together [and] we learned a huge amount from that.

"We were asked to tender, along with other stations on the Island, and I'm pleased to say that we won the bid.

"The fact of the matter is we are passionate about it and we really want to support it.

"We are really pleased that someone like Manx Telecom is the heradline sponsor of the whole event.

"The technology they have and we have will go together and we can make a lot more out of the two things than just the one of us."