radio 1 will bring a three-day Big Weekend to Herrington Country Park from May 22–24, 2026, with the Friday lineup set to be announced and tickets going on sale in early March.
What If Radio 1’s Friday lineup delivers a big dance bill?
Greg James, Breakfast Show host at radio 1, has confirmed the Friday lineup will be announced at 8: 00 ET on March 6 and has teased a “big dance lineup. ” Danny Howard, the station’s dance show host, will join him for the announcement, a signal that the Friday programme will lean into dance acts. The Friday event is designated as an over-18s day only. There will be 31, 000 general admission tickets and 2, 960 VIP tickets allocated for Friday; general admission for that day is priced at £34. 50 and VIP at £86. 00.
That configuration—an adult-only Friday with a focused musical theme—sets expectations for a compact, high-energy opening night featuring headline dance acts. If the teased bill matches those expectations, demand for Friday tickets is likely to spike immediately when the lineup is published at 8: 00 ET and sales open at 9: 00 ET that same day.
What Happens If tickets sell out rapidly and who gets priority?
The booking structure gives clear priority to local residents through a three-pot allocation. Pot 1 reserves 30% of general admission tickets initially for Sunderland City Council residents; Pot 2 reserves 60% for residents of the wider NECA region (County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland and South Tyneside); Pot 3 leaves the remaining 10% unreserved and available to anyone in the UK. Tickets reserved in Pots 1 and 2 will be held for seven days, after which any unsold tickets move to general sale.
Purchase limits are strict: up to two tickets per person per day, and attendees may buy for Friday and one weekend day only (either Saturday or Sunday), not both. General admission tickets for Saturday and Sunday are priced at £44. 50 per day, with VIP at £106. 00 per day. Under-15s in general admission must be accompanied by an adult; children aged two and under do not require a ticket but must be in the care of an adult aged 18 or over.
These rules are designed to widen access for local communities while retaining a small allocation for the wider UK. Rapid sell-outs would most directly affect non-local buyers, given the 70% reservation for local and regional residents in Pots 1 and 2 combined.
What Should Fans and the Local Area Expect Next?
Over the three days, organisers expect a sizable programme of acts and a large audience across the weekend; around 100 acts are expected to perform and roughly 80, 000 fans are anticipated over the course of the event. Saturday and Sunday tickets go on sale at 17: 00 ET on March 11, with the lineups for those days to be revealed the week following the Friday announcement. Buyers will need an account with the event’s official ticketing agent to complete purchases.
For fans: prepare to act quickly on the morning of the sale dates, have verification and payment details ready, and note the two-ticket-per-person limit and the rule restricting attendance to Friday plus one weekend day only. For the city and local businesses: the weekend is positioned to be a major local event with significant visitor numbers and an anticipated boost to the local economy.
Uncertainties remain around final performer names and the precise flow of tickets between reservation pots if demand trends change, but the announced structure gives a clear roadmap for access, pricing and age restrictions as the event approaches. Keep the sale and announcement times in your calendar: the Friday lineup drops at 8: 00 ET, tickets for Friday go live at 9: 00 ET on March 6, and weekend tickets go on sale at 17: 00 ET on March 11. Expect the headline Friday reveal to set the tone for the rest of the weekend and for radio 1
