🎤Lineup
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🎧Official playlist56 tracks
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✈️How to get to Radio 1 Big Weekend
Planning your trip to Radio 1 Big Weekend? Here's how to get there by plane, train or car, and plan your route to the festival site.
- Nearest airport: Newcastle International Airport (NCL), about 22 km from the venue.
- Allow about 31 min by car from the airport to the site.
- By train, head for Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear or the nearest major station, then finish by bus, shuttle or taxi to the site.
- By car, plan for on-site parking and expect heavy traffic around the venue on festival days.
🛏️Where to stay near Herrington Country Park (Radio 1 Big Weekend)
Accommodation near the Radio 1 Big Weekend site fills up fast. Compare hotels, apartments and rentals nearby and book early to stay as close to the stage as possible.
Also consider staying around Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, the nearest large city, if the closest options to the site are sold out.
Estimated travel time to the site
| Distance | 🚗 Car / taxi | 🚴 Bike | 🚶 On foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~1 km | ~3 min | ~4 min | ~12 min |
| ~3 km | ~7 min | ~12 min | ~36 min |
| ~5 km | ~11 min | ~20 min | ~1 h |
| ~10 km | ~22 min | ~40 min | ~2 h |
Public transport: depends on the network around Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear.
Each accommodation's distance to the site is shown on the map above. Rough estimates; allow extra time during festival peak hours.
🌤️Radio 1 Big Weekend 2026 weather
Weather in Herrington Country Park in May 2026?
Typical weather
Chance of rain: about 44% of days
| 2025 | Light rain | 16° / 9° | 2 rainy days |
| 2024 | Drizzle | 16° / 10° | 2 rainy days |
| 2023 | Overcast | 15° / 7° | no rainy days |
Based on the last 3 years over the same period.
Hour by hour
Tap a day to see how temperature and rain changed across 24 hours.
🗺️Things to do near Radio 1 Big Weekend
Many shows happen in the evening, so use your days to explore the area around Radio 1 Big Weekend. Guided tours, museums, outdoor experiences and local activities can be booked in a few clicks before you go.
Nearby, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear and its surroundings offer museums, walks and local gems to discover between sets.
Bookings via our travel partners. Prices stay the same for you; festt may earn a commission.
📋About
Radio 1 Big Weekend 2026: the BBC's festival in Sunderland, UK
Radio 1 Big Weekend is BBC Radio 1's emblematic annual event, held this year at Herrington Country Park in Sunderland, north-east England, United Kingdom. This invitation-only free event brings together 70 artists and celebrates the diversity of contemporary popular music, from pop to hip-hop and rock.
The 2026 programme gathers mainstream artists including ZARA LARSSON, Fatboy Slim, NOTHING BUT THIEVES and Olivia Dean.
Big Weekend reflects Radio 1's spectrum: pop, hip-hop, rock, contemporary R&B, house, afrobeat and folk pop coexist. Alternative pop, bedroom pop, indie folk, neo soul and synth-pop complete this mainstream programme.
21 to 23 May 2026 at Herrington Country Park, Sunderland, United Kingdom. BBC Radio 1's annual gathering in north England — check the programme.
