Sarah Brealey The Latitude weather proved almost as diverse as the entertainment on offer today.Festival-goers hardly knew whether to wear sunglasses and vest tops or raincoats and wellies as sunny skies gave way to downpours within minutes of each other.

Sarah Brealey

The Latitude weather proved almost as diverse as the entertainment on offer today.

Festival-goers hardly knew whether to wear sunglasses and vest tops or raincoats and wellies as sunny skies gave way to downpours within minutes of each other. Those listening to the special festival edition of Loose Ends this evening will be able to hear the rain pattering on the Radio 4 tent.

Last night patches of rain drove a few people away from Scottish indie-rockers Franz Ferdinand's set. But thousands of people enjoyed it all the same. Do You Want To and Take Me Out proved to be the crowd-pleasing moments, with the latter seeing the crowd dancing and clapping along in unison. The set finished with a scorching rendition of This Fire, the only disappointment being the lack of an encore.

At the same time Amadou and Mariam, a blind duo from Mali, were causing even more excitement in the Uncut tent - though their audience had the advantage of being out of the rain. They mixed African and European influences in one of the most original performances of the festival, which it was impossible not to dance to.

Earlier in the evening, Julian Cope, best known from Liverpool band the Teardrop Explodes, had the plug pulled on his set after starting late because of soundchecking. When the sound cut out, she shouted: "Children, tell your grandchildren that men like me once walked the earth!"

This afternoon (Saturday) Nicholas Parson's Just a Minute was one of the most popular events, with many disappointed people unable to fit into the Radio 4 tent. During Loose Ends earlier in the day, cousins and part-time Walberswick residents Emma and Esther Freud discussed the fact that their famous fathers (Clement and Lucien) had not spoken for 50 years, and Emma asked Esther about posing nude for her father as a teenager, at a time when she barely knew him. She said: “It seemed in my world totally normal.”

Melvin Benn, managing director of organisers Festival Republic, said tonight's headliners Sigur Ros would be the high point of the festival. He said: “"For me, Sigur Ros will be a highlight. They are not just a favourite of mine, they are a band that encompasses so much of what latitude is all about. They are extraordinarily good.”

He added: “The whole event is about discovery and surprise.”

There were plenty of surprises, even for those who had been to Latitude in previous years. The lake was decorated with giant painted water lilies, which at night were lit up like floating lanterns.

And some trickery with lights and water spray on the lake created a bizarre and beautiful light display for festival-goers heading back to the campsite.

The trees were, as usual, lit up in reds and blues and green, highlighting the lovely Latitude landscape.

And there were the downright odd elements: people in gold bodysuits and in clown costumes, and stewards who had embellished their uniform with bracken picked from the woods.