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Festival season is within touching distance. In a couple of months, fields from London to Belfast will start filling up with thousands of revellers and the glorious sounds of some of the planet’s greatest artists. One of the earliest fests in the UK’s calendar is Radio 1’s Big Weekend. And today, it announced its star-stacked lineup.
The radio station’s flagship festival has a knack for bringing huge artists to UK towns or cities that they would (probably) never venture to otherwise. It’s had Coldplay playing in Luton, Taylor Swift in Norwich, Bruno Mars in Derry and Miley Cyrus in Middlesborough.
Radio 1 announced where this year’s event would be taking place back in November, but which stars would be coming along has been kept under wraps, until now. Here’s everything you need to know about the Big Weekend 2026 lineup and how you can be there.
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When and where is Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2026?
This year, Radio 1’s Big Weekend is happening from May 22-24 in Sunderland’s Herrington Country Park.
How to buy tickets
Tickets for Friday are on sale on Ticketmaster right now. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday will be go live at 5pm later today (Wednesday March 11).
As ever, access to tickets is prioritised for people local to the festival site. A total of 30 percent of the tickets have been put aside for Sunderland City Council Residents and 60 percent are reserved for residents of the wider region, which includes County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland and South Tyneside. Any of those tickets remaining after seven days will be made available to everyone else. The final 10 percent of tickets are unreserved.
Ticket prices
General admission for the Friday costs £34.50 and VIP costs £86, while both Saturday and Sunday are £44 each for general admission or £106 for VIP.
Who’s on the lineup?
Big Weekend 2026 will begin with a headline set from Fatboy Slim on the main stage, supported by the like of Clementine Douglas and FISHER. On Saturday, Zara Larsson and Louis Tomlinson are two of the biggest names on the bill alongside Ellie Goulding, Skye Newman and Lola Young. And on Sunday, Niall Horan, CMAT and Grammy-award winner Olivia Dean will headline the main stage. See below for the festival’s full lineup.
Friday lineup
Main Stage
- Fatboy Slim
- Clementine Douglas
- FISHER
- Sonny Fodera
- MK
New Music Stage
- Ahadadream B2B Arthi
- horsegiirL
- L.P. Rhythm
- Ewan McVicar
- NOTION
- Marlon Hoffstadt
BBC Introducing Stage
- Jaguar
- Max Jones
- Anish Kumar
- Mia Lily
- Niamh
- Ellie Scougall
- Sorley
Saturday lineup
Main Stage
- Zara Larsson
- Ellie Goulding
- Skye Newman
- Louis Tomlinson
- Lola Young
- Nothing But Thieves
New Music Stage
- James Blake
- Rachel Chinouriri
- Erin LeCount
- Wasia Project
- Mitski
BBC Introducing Stage
- Bella Barbe
- BombayMami
- Heidi Curtis
- LeoStayTrill
- Aaron Rowe
- Tom A Smith
- Swindled
Sunday lineup
Main Stage
- Olivia Dean
- CMAT
- Niall Horan
- Kehlani
- Dermot Kennedy
- Myles Smith
New Music Stage
- Ezra Collective
- FLO
- Holly Humberstone
- Maisie Peters
- Alessi Rose
- Odeal
- Jorja Smith
BBC Introducing Stage
- Able Jack
- DC3
- Finn Forster
- Imogen and the Knife
- RUBII
- Venus Grrrls
- Wohdee
Check out Time Out’s full guide to the UK’s 50 greatest music festivals in 2026 here.
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