Fifty thousand tickets for Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Norwich were released at 8:05am this morning during The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw. The eagerly awaited tickets were given away in pairs, with 25,000 available for each day of the two-day event which takes place at Earlham Park on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May.
The lucky ticket holders will enjoy performances from Taylor Swift, Florence and the Machine, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Years & Years, at Europe’s biggest free ticketed festival which has an unrivalled reputation for attracting live performances from some of the biggest UK and international acts, bringing the nation together for a shared live music moment. The full line-up, including headline artists, for Radio 1’s flagship music event will be revealed on Radio 1 next month.
As with previous Big Weekends, tickets were geographically weighted and an element of preference being given to local residents: 55 per cent of tickets were reserved for those living within the area covered by Norwich City Council; 20 per cent were reserved for those residents with a Norwich (NR) postcode, but outside the area covered by the City Council; 20 per cent were reserved for residents in the surrounding East Anglian region with Ipswich (IP), Colchester (CO), Cambridge (CB) and Peterborough (PE) postcodes; with the remaining 5 per cent for other audiences across the UK.
Neil Wyatt, Head of Live Music and Events, BBC Popular Music said: “It is brilliant to see the tickets go so quickly. One of the main reasons we are bringing Radio 1’s Big Weekend to Norwich is because we know that there is a real appetite for new music and it’s great to see the excitement in the city. If you weren’t able to secure a ticket for the event, we will be revealing information about Radio 1’s Academy including the sessions that will be available very soon, so keep listening to Radio 1 if you want to be involved.”
Radio 1’s Big Weekend is now in its 12th year and will be produced in partnership with Norwich City Council.
In the lead up to Big Weekend, for the fourth year running, Radio 1 and BBC Learning will also embark on a special week of local engagement and face-to-face activity in the area – opening the doors to Radio 1’s Academy. During the week, Radio 1 hopes to inspire local 16-19 year olds to take the next step in their careers by inviting them to attend a series of radio shows, masterclasses and Q&As. Keep listening to Radio 1 for further details.
Radio 1’s Big Weekend will be broadcasting live on Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra and streamed in vision at bbc.co.uk/radio1. Highlights will also be broadcast live on BBC Three, with all performances available after the weekend on the Radio 1 channel in BBC iPlayer (bbc.co.uk/tv/radio1).
For more information about Radio 1’s Big Weekend visit – http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ewh8q9
