TEMPORARY traffic plans have been drawn up for Southampton from today, as thousands of revellers head to the city for huge events over the coming days.

Civic chiefs say they have attempted to minimise travel disruption by diverting drivers away from normal routes.

Here is all you need to know:

What events are taking place?

Today, thousands of people will descend on the city’s ferry port as the Isle of Wight Festival kicks off.

Then, tomorrow, England Lionesses take on North Macedonia at St Mary’s in a World Cup qualifier.

On Saturday, the city’s Common hosts the popular Race for Life charity running event, with hundreds of participants expected.

And while all this is going on, the Southampton International Boat continues, with a huge community event to close the boating festival on Sunday.

Along with the usual cruise ship arrivals into the city, the council expects this to be a particularly busy period.

What road changes will be in place?

The city council says a signed city centre diversion route directing through traffic away from the waterfront area and around the northern part of the inner ring road will be in place.

Visitors to the city centre and the Boat Show will also be directed to use part of this route to access city centre parking. This, they hope, will free up the waterfront for those requiring direct access, such as cruise and Red Funnel passengers.

On West Quay Road, additional signage will be in place to ensure that drivers travelling between Ikea, the cruise terminals and Red Funnel are in the correct lanes.

This will help to “further minimise delays and disruption, where higher levels of traffic are anticipated”, the council says.

They add that highways staff will be monitoring traffic signals around the city centre and will make adjustments to manage changing levels.

At Red Funnel in particular, the set-up of the traffic signals at the pedestrian crossings will be altered to enable manual intervention. This means the signals will hold traffic on Town Quay to allow the movement of disembarking ferry passengers and ensure “a smooth flow of traffic in and out of the terminal”.

Crews will also be working on the ground to oversee traffic levels.

What else has been planned?

In addition to these measures, the council says has told visitors and residents alike to plan ahead for any journeys. Everyone is advised to check for traffic hotspots in advance and to “consider retiming their journeys”.

People are also being asked to “consider other modes of travel”, such as public transport, walking, cycling or using the council’s Voi e-scooters.

What has been said?

Councillor Moulton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth, said: “It’s great to once again be holding events in the city and to see so many people coming here to be a part of them.

“Whether you’re travelling this weekend to one of these events or coming into the city to enjoy everything else we have to offer, we want to make sure the experience is a stress-free one for everybody.

“We would like to reassure everyone that we have a range of measures in place to minimise disruption and my thanks go to everyone involved in the careful planning and preparations that have gone into this.

“Please do continue to plan ahead if you’re going to be travelling over the weekend and, most importantly, enjoy yourself.”