Ironically, the one part of the T in the Park strategy which has not been radically altered is the part which caused the most controversy last year.
The arrival of protected ospreys at the Strathallan Castle site got opponents in a flap and RSPB Scotland came under fire for not objecting.
However, the bird welfare charity praised organisers after last year’s event. Officers said the birds of prey had been monitored throughout the weekend and their behaviour had not changed.
The show’s executive producer Melvin Benn said he was proud that T in the Park could boast its own osprey.
“The osprey was keen to come back. It gets a free ticket to the best event in Scotland, why wouldn’t it come back?” he said.
“The reality is that the osprey is one of the most beautiful birds in the world, it has made a home at our site and I am happy to work around it.”
He said: “To be perfectly honest, I do enjoy the fact that T in the Park has its own osprey. I like wildlife and I consider myself an environmentalist and we can say that we are the only festival in the world with an osprey.”
Mr Benn went on to explain that he has a track record for turning round the fortunes of a major music event.
Just over a decade ago, Mr Benn was brought in by his old friend Michael Eavis when the future of his Glastonbury Festival was thrown into jeopardy.
“It was the year 2000 and there was a failure of the Glastonbury team to finish the site and sort out security,” he said. “It resulted in more people being at the festival, because they were able to walk in freely, than should have been allowed.
“That meant the event had become overcrowded, dangerous and people were worried about it. The council had decided that it wouldn’t grant a licence to Glastonbury in the future unless substantial changes were made.
“Michael called me up and asked to me to get involved and look at changing things round.
“In a way, it wasn’t dissimilar to the call Geoff (Ellis) made after the first year at Strathallan.”
