Big Weekend 2023: how to get tickets to BBC Radio 1 Dundee festival from Ticketmaster - are they sold out?

The highly anticipated BBC Big Weekend festival will take place in Dundee over the coming days.

Following the announcement that The 1975 will be closing the Saturday night main stage, details regarding tickets were confirmed earlier this year. Full details on how to secure tickets to both Saturday 27 May and Sunday 28 May can be found at the bottom of this article.

Wet Leg, Zara Larsson, Nothing But Thieves, Becky Hill, and Cat Burns are some of the hottest names joining the already stellar line-up on the Sunday. Some of the world’s biggest pop acts will perform at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in 2023.

In 2020 and 2021, Radio 1’s Big Weekend events took place online due to the Covid pandemic, but the festival returned to in-person festivities last year. This year, it is heading to Camperdown Park on the north-western fringes of Dundee, where the event was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 before it was cancelled.

John Alexander, Dundee City Council leader, described the festival as “an incredible opportunity” and a “showcase” for the city.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

When is Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2023?

The three-day event will set up shop at Dundee’s Camperdown Park from 26 - 28 May 2023.

By bringing some of the top UK and worldwide acts to towns and cities that might not otherwise host such a large-scale event, Radio 1’s Big Weekend events can significantly boost local economies. 80,000 music fans are expected to descend on Dundee, and the BBC hopes the event will “shine a light on the local area.”

Greg James, Radio 1 Breakfast Show host, said: “We were gutted not to come to Dundee due to the pandemic so it’s massively exciting to finally fulfil our promise this year.

“I was on holiday close to Dundee in the summer and decided I wanted to move there so doing Big Weekend nearby is just the first part of my cunning plan to get out of London. I’m glad Radio 1 have fallen for it.”

How do I get tickets?

Tickets for Radio 1’s Big Weekend are always in great demand, and every year the festival sells out in a matter of minutes.

Tickets for Saturday 27 May and Sunday 28 May went on sale at 8.30am on Friday 24 March, and cost £29 (plus a £4.50 booking fee per ticket). Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

A statement on the BBC website explains the allocation: “As with previous Big Weekends, tickets will be geographically weighted with an element of preference given to local residents: 50 percent of tickets will be reserved for those living in Dundee and the surrounding area; 40 percent of tickets will be reserved for those living in the rest of Scotland; whilst the remaining 10 percent of tickets will be available for the rest of the UK. The booking process will be handled by Ticketmaster - the only official ticketing agent for Radio 1’s Big Weekend.”

Are they sold out?

As expected, tickets for this year’s festival were once again in huge demand. At the time of writing, it’s just over half-an-hour on from when they went on sale, and Sunday tickets have completely sold out.

Who’s on the line-up?

The lineup and stage times for the festival has been announced by BBC Radio 1. It features upcoming artists as well as established names like The 1975 and Lewis Capaldi. Full lineup below:

Main stage (in alphabetical order)

• ArrDee
• Jess Glynne
• Joel Corry
• Jonas Brothers
• Mimi Webb
• The 1975
• Thirty Seconds To Mars
• Tom Grennan

Radio 1 Future Sounds stage (in alphabetical order)

• FLO
• Headie One
• Pale Waves
• piri
• Romy
• Rudimental
• Self Esteem
• The Snuts

The Sunday will see Lewis Capaldi top the main stage.

Main stage (in alphabetical order)

• Anne-Marie
• Becky Hill
• Lewis Capaldi
• Niall Horan
• Nothing But Thieves
• Wet Leg
• Zara Larsson

Radio 1 Future Sounds stage (in alphabetical order)

• Arlo Parks
• Ashnikko
• Cassyette
• Cat Burns
• Georgia
• Inhaler
• RAYE
• Sub Focus

Scotland’s own Lewis Capaldi said he was “very excited” to be playing in Dundee for Radio 1’s Big Weekend as he “never managed to get tickets last time,” while The 1975 said they were looking forward to their first outdoor show of the year!”

Will it be on TV?

If you missed out on tickets - or can’t make the journey to Dundee - fear not, you’ll still be able to enjoy all of the action from home. BBC will show one of the headline sets live on BBC One - and will also provide coverage across BBC iPlayer.

There will be live coverage on BBC Radio 1 and the BBC Sounds app.