BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend is heading to Coventry in 2022 – for three days of live music.
The annual music festival hosted by the UK’s youth radio station will be back bigger than ever after going virtual for the past two years, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 70,000 fans invited to see the biggest music stars at the West Midlands city’s War Memorial Park between May 27 and May 29.
Greg James announced on the ‘BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show’ on Tuesday morning (16.11.21): “We are so excited to be doing a bug weekend again, together, in a field, watching the world’s biggest artists performing just for us,
“The Big Weekend is heading to Coventry, we are going to be there for three days and 70,000 of you will be able to join us.
“It is our favourite thing to do here at Radio 1, to bring music to a field.”
Coventry was awarded UK City of Culture status this year and is also set to host the MOBO Awards in December.
The leader of Coventry City Council, George Duggins, said: “Hosting a major international event like this, which features some of the biggest names in the music industry, provides another fantastic opportunity to showcase Coventry and is the perfect way for our city to finish its year as UK City of Culture.”
This year’s Radio 1’s Big Weekend of Live Music 2021 event, saw the likes of Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, AJ Tracey, Anne-Marie, Celeste, and Royal Blood perform from various landmarks across the UK.
The performances were broadcast on Radio 1 with full sets available on BBC Sounds.
The last in-person event in 2019 took place at Middlesbrough’s Stewart Park, with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Stormzy, The 1975 and Little Mix on the bill.
The 2022 lineup is due to be announced in due course.