BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

run by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. It is held once a year, in a different location within the United Kingdom each time. It was the biggest free-ticketed music event in Europe, until a fee for tickets was introduced in 2018, and always includes a host of new artists.

Background and history

The festival is a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

of Radio 1's "One Big Sunday", where in each Sunday during the summer months a different town would host the roadshow, usually next to a beach or in a large park. These were also free, but non-ticketed and held from 2000 to 2002. Both events are successors to the

Radio 1 Roadshow The Radio 1 Roadshow was an annual summer event hosted and broadcast by BBC Radio 1 from 1973 to 1999. The roadshow ran over three decades of live broadcasts from beach resorts around the UK. The summer roadshows came to an end in July and August ...

which toured the country during every summer from 1973 and continued throughout the 1990s. Originally a "One Big Weekend" would run twice a year, although that last happened in 2004. Since 2005 it has been held once a year instead, usually in May, with the exception of 2012 when a larger festival took place over the weekend of 23–24 June in Hackney, East London. The form of the event has varied over the years, from one tent at the events in 2003 to as many as six stages in 2012. Every event since 2013 has consisted of one outdoor main stage, one tented second stage, and one much smaller stage dedicated to showcasing emerging talent supported by

BBC Introducing BBC Music Introducing is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. The backbone of that network consists of 32 BBC local radio shows on stations across England and the Channel Islands, various ...

. Additionally, the early events dedicated their Saturday exclusively to

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

and their Sunday to

bands Bands may refer to: * Bands (song), song by American rapper Comethazine * Bands (neckwear), form of formal neckwear * Bands (Italian Army irregulars) Bands () was an Italian military term for Irregular military, irregular forces, composed of nati ...

. The dance day was replaced by a second day of bands from 2006 onwards, although there was a dance-orientated ‘Outdoor Stage’ between 2007 and 2012. The ‘dance day’ was effectively reinstated for the 2013 event in Northern Ireland, with a day of electronic music being held on the Friday night of the weekend. This approach has been repeated in most years since. The next edition of the event was scheduled to be held between 22 and 24 May 2020 in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, with Camperdown Park becoming the first site to host the event twice. The event however was cancelled in reaction to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and went virtual. The 2021 Big Weekend was also moved into a virtual mode. In late 2021, it was revealed that Radio 1's Big Weekend would return in a live tradition for the first time in three years, with

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

being the host city for this event on 27 to 29 May 2022. On 30 January 2023, it was announced that Dundee would host Big Weekend from 26 to 28 May 2023. The city was originally due to host in 2020 but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 January 2024, it was announced that Luton would host Big Weekend from 24 to 26 May 2024. A full Friday programme took place in Luton, with all stages being used on this day for the first time, although it was still generally based around dance music. On 28 January 2025, it was announced that Liverpool would host Big Weekend from 23 to 25 May 2025.

Venues

;Notes

Tickets

Tickets to the festival are, notably, free (except the small booking fee which was introduced from the 2012 event onwards) but are usually now restricted to one pair per person. Prior to 2006, a ticket booth would be set up in an easy location in the centre of the hosting city, and anybody who wished to obtain a pair of tickets would queue up, before a Radio 1 DJ gave them out (pairs of tickets for the Saturday given away on a Saturday and on the following day for the Sunday), on a first-come first-served basis. The theory there was that the majority of tickets would go to local residents, as people from further away would not make the journey. However, as more and more 'non-local' residents came to the giveaways, and the capacity at the events grew year-on-year, it was decided that a different system was needed. From 2006, therefore, pairs of tickets have been given away through an online

lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

. People wishing to attend register on the

website and pairs of tickets are then randomly allocated and given out. In order to make sure that those who live locally get the majority of tickets, the applications are split into categories of 'local postcodes' and 'other postcodes' and the majority of the tickets (usually 95%) are reserved for the former. Despite the tickets being free, some people often attempt to sell them on

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

, and in recent years this has meant that various security measures have been introduced, most notably the barcodes on tickets which are scanned at the gate, the rule that the person whose name is registered on the ticket has to be in attendance and, from 2012, passport-style pictures being required as part of the application process. Tickets are also given away as prizes via various competitions held on Radio 1 (and now 1Xtra) in the weeks running up to the event, which is usually the only way in which members of the public can obtain passes for both days of the event. For the 2013 event, no pre-registration was necessary, and instead all tickets were given away on a 'first come first served' basis - albeit still with the skewing of 90% of tickets being held back for residents of Northern Ireland. After an initial 24-hour delay due to technical difficulties, the tickets all sold out within an hour. 2014's event in Glasgow saw the 'first come first served' ticket release return with no pre-registration needed. 50% of tickets were reserved for residents within the boundaries of

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

with a further 45% reserved for those in the rest of Scotland. However, for the first time ever, members of the public could obtain tickets to all three days of the festival. This led to complaints from some disappointed fans who were left without tickets to any day while others bagged tickets for the entire weekend. For the 2006 event in Dundee, less than half of the tickets were given to local residents, and allegations were made of postal workers stealing tickets.

2000s

May 2003

On 3 and 4 May, the One Big Weekend was held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

September 2003

On 13 and 14 September, the One Big Weekend held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

April 2004

On 24 and 25 April 2004, the first of two in that calendar year - was held at Prehen Fields,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. It featured the following line-up:

Line-up

Saturday 24 April Sunday 25 April

September 2004

On 18 and 19 September 2004, the final 'One Big Weekend' under that name - and the second of that calendar year - was held at Perry Park,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. It featured the following line-up:

Line-up

Saturday 18 September Sunday 19 September

2005

On 7 and 8 May 2005, the Big Weekend was held at

Penshaw Monument The Penshaw Monument (officially the Earl of Durham's Monument) is a memorial in the style of an ancient Greek temple on Penshaw Hill in the metropolitan borough of the City of Sunderland, North East England. It is located near the village of ...

in Herrington Country Park,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, and featured artists included:

Line-up

Saturday 7 May Sunday 8 May

2006

In 2006, the Big Weekend was held in Camperdown Park,

on 13 and 14 May 2006 and featured artists which included:

Line-up

Saturday 13 May Sunday 14 May Many of the BBC Radio 1 DJs including

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...

Tim Westwood Timothy Westwood (born 3 October 1957), often known professionally simply as Westwood, is a British DJ and presenter. He was described by ''The Guardian'' in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene whose opinions have been able to make or bre ...

and

Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he presented '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2012 ...

attended too, and held a number of competitions so that people could win tickets. In addition, Radio 1 also created a virtual festival experience in the virtual reality application ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...

''. Avatars on the BBC Radio 1 islands could watch the event on live screens while the audience could see their virtual counterparts on massive stage side screens at the real event in Dundee. The event was hailed as the first ever festival with a professional line-up to take place in a virtual universe.

2007

On Saturday 19 May and Sunday 20 May, Radio 1's Big Weekend was held in Moor Park in Preston. For the first time in the history of the event, all tickets had

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...

s and were scanned on arrival at the park. The barcodes contained information such as name and address of the winner of the tickets. Having the barcodes meant that Radio 1 could cancel lost or stolen tickets and issue new ones to those affected. In an effort to stop people buying tickets from eBay or through other mediums, the public was told they would be asked to prove their home address if their tickets were thought to be suspect. However, the BBC decided to scrap this idea on the day as they thought it would cause angry scenes if people were to be turned away. At the close of entry on 8 May 2007, over 450,000 people registered for a chance to get tickets for the 2007 festival. On Tuesday 8 May on

The Chris Moyles Show ''The Chris Moyles Show'' is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Chris Moyles, originally broadcast as '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' from 5 January 2004 to 14 September 2012, before transferring three years later ...

, Chris announced that a further 5,000 tickets will be available taking the total for both days being 35,000. Tickets were also given away in an

alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by int ...

online using Radio 1 fan forums. The situation surrounded a man called Paul Denchfield who was supposedly sacked from the station. Throughout the run up to the event 'Frozen Indigo Angel' would appear in various places online and on-air, with it being the player's mission to hunt down tickets. The line up was as follows:

Line-up

Saturday 19 May Sunday 20 May

2008

In 2008, the festival was held over the weekend of Saturday 10 May and Sunday 11 May, at

Mote Park Mote Park is a multi-use public park in Maidstone, Kent. Previously a country estate it was converted to landscaped park land at the end of the 18th century before becoming a municipal park. It includes the former stately home Mote House toget ...

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, which can hold up to 20,000 people. 85% of tickets went to people living in Kent, 10% went to those living in areas bordering Kent, including parts of Sussex, Surrey, Essex and London, and the other 5% were handed to others living across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Concern was raised after a large number of locals commented that even those living within the close vicinity of the park did not receive tickets, with some in the Medway towns winning multiple times.

Line-up

The full line-up (except for

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...

) was announced on BBC Radio 1 on Monday 21 April 2008. Saturday 10 May Sunday 11 May The national newspapers had also reported that Justin Timberlake could be a special guest - performing with Madonna. Although this later turned out to be untrue.

Pendulum A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...

were hailed as one of the festivals' best acts, outshining even Madonna and packing the INMWT tent. * On the main stage on 10 May 2008,

Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first became known for writing the screenplay of Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scor ...

Chris Carmack Chris Carmack (born December 22, 1980) is an American actor, singer, and former fashion model. He is known for his roles in three popular television shows—the teen drama series '' The O.C.'' (2003–2004) as Luke Ward, the country music drama ...

and

Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from York University in 2001 with a BFA in theatre, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film '' Perfect Pie'' (2002), ...

appeared whilst doing promotional work for Tarzan.

Headline sets

2009

The 2009 event was held in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

Line-up

Saturday 9 May Sunday 10 May

2010s

2010

On 24 February 2010, it was announced on ''

'' that the 10th Big Weekend would take place on the Faenol Estate near Bangor,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on Saturday 22 May and Sunday 23 May 2010.

Pixie Lott Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott (born 12 January 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her debut studio album, ''Turn It Up (Pixie Lott album), Turn It Up'' (2009), reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.5 millio ...

also performed on the show and was announced as the first act on the bill and

Lostprophets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets or LOSTPROPHETS) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruit ...

was announced while they were on tour. Jaguar Skills announced on his website that he would be playing at the event, but he was not on the announced line-up. On the morning of 26 April 2010, the full main stage and INMWT stage listings were announced during the ''

Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...

Show'' (which was hosted by

Annie Mac Annie Macmanus (born 18 July 1978), known professionally as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, includ ...

, as Cotton was on vacation). 20,000 pairs of free tickets were made available to the public for each day of the weekend. Applicants were able to register for tickets to the event on the Radio 1 website from 26 April 2010 until 3 May 2010.

Line-up

Saturday 22 May Sunday 23 May Live Lounge Tent

2011

The announcement of location and dates for Radio 1's Big Weekend 2011 was made by

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2, where he has be ...

on 30 March 2011, with his breakfast show (he was covering for

that week) being broadcast from Trinity School, Carlisle that morning. Over 750,000 people applied for tickets to the event. 20,000 pairs of tickets were available for the two-day event with the usual allocation policy applying. It was announced that the priority areas for tickets would be the borders of Carlisle, Cumbria, the Scottish Borders and the North East of England. As usual, competitions to win VIP tickets were run on various Radio 1 shows in the weeks leading up to the Big Weekend.

Line-up

Headline sets

TV & radio coverage

Radio 1's Big Weekend 2011 was streamed live on the Radio 1 website. The headliners of each day (

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

on Saturday and Sunday respectively) were broadcast live on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

and

BBC HD BBC HD was a high-definition television channel owned by the BBC. The channel was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007 before its discontinuation on 25 March 2013. It broadcast only during ...

. The Big Weekend was also broadcast live on

. Highlights of the event were also broadcast on BBC Three and BBC HD during the week following the Big Weekend.

2012

On 23 May 2011, it was announced that for 2012, Radio 1 would be replacing the Big Weekend with a 'Hackney Weekend' to form part of the London 2012 Festival, in the buildup to the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. The festival duly took place on the

Hackney Marshes Hackney Marshes is an area of open space in London's Lower Lea Valley, lying on the western bank of the River Lea. It takes its name from its position on the eastern boundary of Hackney, the principal part of the London Borough of Hackney, an ...

over the weekend of 23 and 24 June 2012. 50,000 people attended each of the two days in 2012, meaning a total of 100,000 people visited the site over the weekend: more than double the previous highest attendances (40,000 across the weekends in each of 2010 and 2011). Due to the upgraded scale of the festival, the number of stages were increased (from four to six) and, for the first time, the Main Stage was outdoors rather than inside a tent.

Florence + The Machine Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

were initially announced as playing on Saturday 23 June, but a double booking at another European festival meant that they actually performed on Sunday 24 June.

The Ting Tings The Ting Tings are an English indie pop duo formed in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2007. The band consists of Katie White (vocals, guitar, bass drums, bass guitar, cowbells) and Jules De Martino (drums, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, ...

were initially announced as to be playing on Saturday 23 June, but due to logistical reasons beyond their control they had to pull out of the bill. On both days of the festival, a number of unannounced special guests performed with artists on the bill, the most noteworthy of which were

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

, M.I.A. and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

appearing as part of

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

's headlining set on Saturday; and, in turn,

went on to return the favour and make a special multiple-song contribution during

's own headlining set the next day.

Line-up

Saturday 23 June

Headline sets

2013

The new ''

Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'', also known as ''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'', is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week u ...

'' host

Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), nicknamed "Grimmy", is an English broadcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a television presenter for his Channel 4 rol ...

announced that the Big Weekend would return to

in May 2013 to celebrate its title of UK City of Culture 2013, the same city that hosted the first of the two 2004 Big Weekends (although the actual site is different). For the first time, the Big Weekend extended to a third day - which focused on dance music. Alongside that initial announcement were the confirmation of the first two acts,

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence after participating on the sixth series of the television talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2009, where he finished as runn ...

and

Two Door Cinema Club Two Door Cinema Club are a British rock band formed in Bangor, County Down, Bangor, Northern Ireland in 2007. The band is composed of three members: Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), ...

, with the rest of the line-up being announced by Grimshaw during another ''

'' on Monday 6 May. Both of the stages were in Ebrington Square - unlike recent Big Weekends there was no BBC Introducing Stage or Live Lounge Tent at this event. The '1Xtra' and 'In New Music We Trust' stages from Hackney 2012 were combined into a single venue.

Line-up

*Due to issues at Heathrow Airport, two acts on the bill for Friday were unable to attend the event: those being Angel Haze and AlunaGeorge. Further acts also had their performances affected by the flight disruptions but were still able to appear: J. Cole was forced to substitute his band for a backing track, and

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

's equipment was stuck in London, forcing them to use the equipment of

Chase and Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in ...

. *The above tables do not always represent the stage orders - for example, Two Door Cinema Club opened the Main Stage on Saturday, as opposed to The Saturdays, who in fact performed second on the day. Similarly, 30 Seconds To Mars opened the Main Stage on Sunday.

Headline sets

2014

On 30 January,

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

and

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-u ...

announced that the 2014 event would be held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

to celebrate the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

. For the first time, the event took place in two different locations in the same city. The Friday night of the event was held in

George Square George Square () is the principal Town square, civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, Glasgow, Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, Glasgow, St Andrew's ...

and was dedicated to

. The remaining two days followed the traditional format of the Big Weekend and took place at

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

and

The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...

performed. On 31 March, 60,000 weekend tickets for the event sold out in 30 minutes. The Main Stage lineup was announced on the

on 28 April 2014. It was announced that

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

would headline on the Sunday night while

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

and

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...

would open the Main Stage on the Saturday and Sunday respectively. Local Scottish band Baby Stange performed on the BBC Introducing Stage.

Line-up

Headline sets

2015

On 23 January,

announced on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, that the 2015 event would be held at Earlham Park in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, next to the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, taking place on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May. On 31 March, 50,000 tickets went on sale and sold out within 40 minutes. The full lineup for main stage and the INMWT tent was announced on 20 April,

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

headlined on the Saturday and

on the Sunday. The majority of acts for the BBC introducing stage were announced on 22 April with the remaining acts announced on 4 May.

Line-up

*Due to their vocal cord operation,

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...

's performance on Sunday was cancelled and replaced by

Catfish and the Bottlemen Catfish and the Bottlemen are a British indie rock band formed in Llandudno, Conwy, Wales, in 2007. The band currently consists of Van McCann (lead vocals, guitars) and Benji Blakeway (bass guitar, backing vocals). Their debut album, '' The Bal ...

2016

The event was held in Powderham Castle, Kenton near

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

on 28 and 29 May.

headlined the second and final night, with other acts performing including

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in ...

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

and

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

. On 1 March, it was announced that

and

Jake Bugg Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, ''Jake Bugg (album), Jake Bugg'', some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 20 ...

had been added to the lineup. Ticket information was announced on Monday 21 March. Tickets went on sale at 8am on Monday 4 April. As usual, the tickets themselves were free, but there was an £8.50 administration fee with each ticket. In 2016, 60% of the tickets were reserved for residents living in areas covered by

Exeter City Council Exeter City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the city of Exeter in Devon, England. Exeter has had a city council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a non-met ...

and

Teignbridge Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Newton Abbot. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth, along with numerous vi ...

district council. A further 35% went to residents in surrounding areas of Exeter, including those with any other Exeter (EX) and Torquay (TQ) postcodes and those with

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

(TR),

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

(PL),

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

(TA) and Dorchester (DT) postcodes, whilst the remaining 5% of tickets were available to the rest of the UK. The full line-up was announced in April 2016.

Line-up

Controversies

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who both left in 2011. Since their departure, the line-up h ...

had their set cut short due to "safety concerns". Frontman

Tyler Joseph Tyler Robert Joseph (born December 1, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman for the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside bandmate Josh Dun. Across his career he has r ...

climbed a mast whilst singing "

Car Radio Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the occupants. Such systems are popularly known as car stereos. Until the 1950s, it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions si ...

", which prompted BBC officials to appear and cut his microphone off, and ask bandmate

Josh Dun Joshua William Dun (born June 18, 1988) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside Tyler Joseph, but he has collaborated with other artists as well. His band has been nominated for ...

to stop drumming. They could not continue with their set and had to leave the stage.

2017

For 2017, the event was held at Burton Constable Hall approximately 9 miles (14 km) north-east of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

. The location was confirmed the morning of 23 January, acts confirmed include

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

and

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is an English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' ...

. On 16 March 2017, it was announced

will be headlining the Saturday night.

Line-up

Headline sets

2018

In order to take advantage of the absence of the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

in 2018, 4 separate Big Weekends were held simultaneously between 25 and 28 May in four cities each in the UK's four countries. Stylized as "BBC Music's Biggest Weekend", events were held in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

(with a line-up curated by Radio 1),

and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

(both curated by Radio 2) and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

(curated by Radio 6 Music). Tickets sold out for the Swansea, Perth and Coventry Big Weekends.

Line-up

=Belfast

=Perth

=Swansea

=Coventry

2019

On 27 February,

Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English broadcaster and author. He has been a presenter on BBC Radio 1 since 2007, hosting shows including his old drive-time show and the station's flagship breakfast show. Since 201 ...

announced on the ''

'' that the Big Weekend would be held in Stewart Park,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, England for 2019 with

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...

Zara Larsson Zara Maria Larsson (; born 16 December 1997) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and dancer. She first rose to prominence in 2008 after winning the Talang 2008, second season of ''Talang (Swedish TV show), Talang'', the Swedish version of the ''Got T ...

and

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

performing. The daily capacity was 32,000.

Headline sets

2020s

2020

On 27 January,

announced on the

that the Big Weekend would be returning to Camperdown Park in

in 2020 with

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

and

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...

headlining. With Camperdown Park having previously hosted the Big Weekend in 2006, it would have been the first time the same venue hosted the event twice - and the second time the Big Weekend has visited the same city twice, after

in 2004 and 2013. On 13 March 2020, it was announced that the Big Weekend had been cancelled due to the

. However, in late April 2020 it was announced that there would be a virtual version airing on Radio 1 on the weekend of Friday 22 - Sunday 24 May 2020. The new Big Weekend festival featured newly recorded mini sets from the artist's homes as well as re-airings of full sets from previous Big Weekend performers over four "virtual stages". *Artists in ''italics'' have recorded new performances for the 2020 Big Weekend.

2021

Due to the continuing pandemic, the 2021 edition of Big Weekend was again held virtually. As with 2020, the event included a mixture of newly recorded performances and archive sets from previous years. It was held on 29 and 30 May 2021. *Artists in ''italics'' recorded new performances for the 2021 Big Weekend.

Headline sets

BBC Introducing sets

#"23, Never Me"
Dead Pony

2022

In late 2021, it was revealed that Radio 1's Big Weekend would return in a live tradition for the first time in three years, with

being the host city for this event on 27 to 29 May 2022. On 14 May and 16 March 2022, Saturday's & Sunday's main stage line-up were retrospectively announced on ''

The Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'', also known as ''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'', is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week u ...

'' with

whilst the Future Sounds Stage line-up was announced on Radio 1's ''Future Sounds with Clara Amfo''.

Headline sets

2023

On 30 January 2023,

(which was originally scheduled to host the 2020 festival) was announced as the host city for the 2023 edition of Big Weekend alongside the initial line-up. Dundee is the first

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

city and second overall city to host the event twice.

Headline sets

2024

On 29 January 2024, it was announced that Luton would host Big Weekend from 24 to 26 May 2024. The festival took place in

Stockwood Park Stockwood Park is a large urban park in Luton, Bedfordshire, in the Farley Hill, Bedfordshire, Farley Hill estate. With period formal gardens, leading crafts museums, Stockwood Park Rugby Club and extensive golfing facilities, it is about 100 h ...

and was headlined by

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

, and

Raye Rachel Agatha Keen (born 24 October 1997), known professionally as Raye ( ), is a British singer-songwriter. She first rose to prominence after signing with Polydor Records and subsequently releasing Dance music, dance singles and extended pla ...

Headline sets

2025

On 28 January 2025, it was announced that Liverpool would host Big Weekend from 23 to 25 May 2025. The first confirmed acts were

Blossoms In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as we ...

, Lola Young, Myles Smith,

Sam Fender Samuel Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in North Shields (near Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle), Fender discovered his passion for music during his teenage years and released sev ...

and

Wet Leg Wet Leg are an English indie rock band from the Isle of Wight, England, founded in 2019 by Rhian Teasdale (vocals, guitar) and Hester Chambers (guitar). The band also includes Josh Mobaraki (guitar, keyboards), Ellis Durand (bass) and Henry Ho ...

Radio 1 Main Stage

Radio 1 New Music Stage

Radio 1 Dance Stage

BBC Introducing Stage

Headline sets

References

External links

* {{Major British Music Festivals Free festivals Rock festivals in the United Kingdom BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio in Concert 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Radio festivals Music festivals established in 2003