Don't lose the Head

Massive alert: on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night of the festival, a bunch of Massive Heads will be leading a procession from Dublin Castle, just after the gig finishes, out onto Dame Street and down into Temple Bar, accompanied by two eight-foot-high spiders, copious amounts of fire, light and smoke and a big-beat drum team. Apart from the easily recognisable heads of Bono, Larry, The Edge, Adam, Noel and Liam Gallagher, Elvis and Mick Jagger, there will also be an Irish unveiling of Robbie Williams as Massive Head.

The hugely popular heads came into being when U2 asked the Galway street entertainment troupe, Macnas, to come up with something they could use on their ZOO TV tour back in 1993. Macnas did up four huge replica heads of the members of U2, which would come out and dance before the real band took to the stage. They were retired after the tour but U2 wanted them back for the video shoot of their Sweetest Thing song last year. Chris Evans, presenter of Channel 4's TFIF, saw the heads and asked if he could borrow them for one show. They went down a storm and are now regular features on the show. Macnas also provided the show with Massive Heads of the brothers Gallagher and Madonna.

Weighing in at just 2lbs (to allow for ease of movement), the Heads have jockeys' skull protectors inside to secure them to wearer's heads and it takes a sculptor, a painter and a fibre-glass specialist three weeks to produce one. The Heads always provoke a response - last year Massive Elvis was offered all sorts of favours by a member of a visiting English hen party, while the Massive Gallagher Brothers are always being asked out for fights by stupid young men. Such is the popularity of the U2 Heads that they now tour universities and clubs in Britain with their dancing routines. The Massive Head parades start at about 10.30 p.m. each night, so you can Pied Piper your way with them right down to Temple Bar Square all weekend.