EUROPE'S biggest free music festival comes to Bangor this summer with Florence & The Machine, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Dizzee Rascal, Pendulum and Cheryl Cole confirmed to perform.
The tenth annual Radio 1’s Big Weekend will be held over the weekend of May 22 and 23, and will feature the likes of Scouting for Girls, Biffy Clyro and JLS plus Welsh bands the Lostprophets, Kids in Glass Houses and Marina & The Diamonds.
BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend is the station’s flagship event and the UK’s biggest free ticketed festival. 40,000 lucky music fans can enjoy performances from four stages at the Faenol Estate – the Main Stage; the In New Music We Trust Stage; the Outdoor Stage and the BBC Introducing Stage.
Ticket availability is limited and the registration period is only open until May 3 so be sure to get your name on the list now by logging on to www.bbc.co.uk/radio1.
Jason Carter, head of live events, is one of the pioneers behind the event; he said: “The event itself has 20,000 tickets for each day and predominantly 75 per cent of the tickets will go across North Wales for the lucky few.”
Last year, the Big Weekend was held in Swindon and more than 350,000 people registered for tickets so the message is clear - get online and get your name in the hat now!
DJ Huw Stephens said: “People should log onto the website nice and early and remember not be sad if they don’t get a ticket - it’s all going to be on the radio, online and on TV, and the best view is usually from the settee!”
Head of marketing James Wood added: “Registration seems to be the fairest way to do it as everyone has an equal opportunity, though as it’s weighed towards people in the area to give them a slightly more equal opportunity.”
Over the weekend, concert goers as well as those watching or listening at home, will be able to enjoy a variety of acts on four stages.
The Main Stage features the biggest acts whilst the In New Music We Trust Stage offers more alternative flavours.
For a look at some musical newcomers then hit the Introducing Stage and finally the outdoor DJ Stage featuring pitched deck battles.
An announcement is due on the station’s breakfast show tomorrow about volunteering, which provides the opportunity for people to get tickets as a volunteer, and news is pending on the Fringe Festival, that runs between May 17-21 across North Wales in eight different venues with the final night in and around Bangor.
In recent years the Big Weekend has featured the likes of the Foo Fighters, Gwen Stefani and even Madonna and is set to be the biggest event to hit North Wales in some time.
Jason said: “From today pretty much the only thing we’ll be talking about is Bangor - this is not just about landing the Radio 1 spaceship in an area but also about reflecting the region.
“This is a great opportunity for us to reach out to license payers in North Wales and we want to make sure that we also reflect in the right way the Welsh language, and with the right balance.”