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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Lifestyle
Maryam Kara

Where and when is BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend Festival 2024?

The location for BBC's Radio 1's 2024 Big Weekend Festival has been announced - and it has left some people bewildered.

Although the lineup is yet to be revealed, people remain hopeful that it'll boast some of music's biggest names. In the past, the likes of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran have played it.

But here's everything we do know so far, including important dates for your diaries.

When is the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend Festival?

The Big Weekend Festival is to be held over three days from May 24 to 26, with 100,000 tickets up for grabs. The 2024 festival is to be the first time the festival runs across three full days.

Where is the Big Weekend Festival?

The location of Radio 1's latest extravaganza has also been revealed: Stockwood Park in Luton.

The festival changes location every year, and previous iterations took place in Dundee, Coventry, and Middlesbrough.

Not everybody was thrilled at the news. Some have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to voice their frustration. One bewildered user complained that it was taking place "right under the departure/approach flight path for Luton Airport!"

Others were unhappy about the festival taking place just thirty miles away from the capital. "Everything happens in London. With the BBC being taxpayer funded, I thought big weekend was an outside of London thing, to bring economic prosperity to businesses in areas outside of London," one person wrote. "This is, therefore, disappointing news to me."

Some found the news amusing. Another simply remarked: "Radio One’s big weekend being in Luton might be the funniest thing that happens this year."

However, not all are in dismay about the venue as one said, "this is great news for Luton."Cllr Hazel Simmons MBE, Leader of Luton Council, said: "The fact that BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, one of the UK's largest and most popular music festivals, has chosen Luton is fantastic news for our town, especially our young people, and will showcase all the wonderful things about Luton.

"Not only will this event give a multi-million pound boost to Luton's economy and provide a number of opportunities for local young people and businesses, with tens of thousands in attendance and millions tuning in across the BBC, it gives us an opportunity to step forward and showcase the very best of our ambitious, brilliantly vibrant, wonderfully diverse and transforming town."

"Luton is now officially cool," said Luton Town FC's chief executive Gary Sweet.

Some speculated about whether the location choice could be linked with Luton FC's return to the Premier League, and their plucky underdog spirit. "Radio 1 Big Weekend coming to Luton, absolutely prompted by our Premier League team’s success. Growing up on Farley Hill Estate, literally spending every waking hour in Stockwood Park, it was unimaginable that this could happen," one wrote.

How can I get tickets?

Tickets have not yet gone up for sale, though people have been asked to keep their eyes peeled with BBC Radio 1 teasing that information will be coming soon. The BBC said this might happen over the next few weeks.

Last year, weekend tickets cost £29.00 with an added £4.50 booking fee while Friday tickets cost £18 with an additional booking fee of £2.50. A maximum on only two tickets could be purchased per person for entry to the weekend events.

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