Programme Information

BBC Radio 1 goes large

BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend

Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 May BBC RADIO 1 and
BBC RADIO 1XTRA

• Programme copy (Saturday)
• Programme copy (Sunday)

Forty thousand North Wales music fans will head for Bangor's Vaynol Estate on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 May for the UK's biggest free ticketed festival.

Across four stages – the Main Stage; the In New Music We Trust Stage; the Outdoor Stage; and the BBC Introducing Stage – BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend offers the best in modern music with a line-up that includes Florence And The Machine, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Dizzee Rascal, JLS, Pendulum and Cheryl Cole.

A host of Radio 1 talent will be present to introduce top pop acts, great bands, the best dance DJs, emerging talent and exciting opportunities for local bands to impress in front of a huge audience.

BBC Press Information talks to three of Radio 1's DJs, Fearne Cotton, Bethan Elfyn and Greg James, about their festival memories and what they are especially looking forward to from the Big Weekend in Bangor.

Fearne Cotton, BBC Radio 1

Fearne Cotton presents the weekday morning show from 10am to 12.45pm on BBC Radio 1. She seeks out and plays new music and invites top artists to perform stripped-back versions of their songs and a cover in the world-famous Live Lounge.

Before taking over the mid-morning show in September 2009, music-mad Fearne had been co-presenting The Request Show and the Radio 1 Chart show with Reggie Yates since October 2007 and also presented Top Of The Pops for two years.

Which act are you most looking forward to seeing at the Big Weekend?

Pendulum always bring it. I've never seen so many people stage diving at a gig than at Pendulum shows. It's like one massive rock wave of people, so watch out North Wales. Also, there are loads of bands I've not seen live before, like my favourites 30 Seconds To Mars and MGMT.

What was the first concert you ever went to?

Embarrassingly it was Jason Donovan, ha ha! My best mate and I, aged seven-ish, went to see him at Wembley. My dad works at the Stadium and he sorted us out good seats – we thought we had died and gone to heaven.

What would be your ideal festival line-up from acts past and present?

Led Zeppelin headlining, David Bowie, Kings Of Leon, Kasabian and Justice.

What's special about Bangor, this year's Big Weekend venue?

From what I've seen online it looks beautiful there. Set in the rolling hills with many local people amped to the max about our arrival. It's going to be BIG!

Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio Wales

For local girl Bethan Elfyn, who broadcasts for both Radio 1 and Radio Wales, the arrival of the Big Weekend in Bangor has a special resonance. A champion of new talent through her role as presenter of BBC Introducing in Wales, Bethan is a veteran of events such as Wakestock, The Greenman Festival and the Radio 1 stage at Reading.

She also DJs, manages a band, runs a record label, edits an independent magazine and produces documentaries and programmes for Radio 1 and Radio 1 Wales as well as occasionally presenting for Welsh language television channel S4C.

As a member of the Fringe Festival Panel, Bethan's duties for the Big Weekend include selecting hot acts from the local scene who will play at venues across Bangor.

Which act are you most looking forward to seeing at the Big Weekend?

There are too many to mention! Everyone from Vampire Weekend to the Joy Formidable. All the brilliant new Welsh bands like Cyrion and Tim And Sam at the Fringe Festival to Main Stage bands like Marina And The Diamonds, Lostprophets and Kids In Glass Houses. I'm even looking forward to some classic pop with Rihanna and Alicia Keys.

What's your earliest concert or festival memory?

I love festivals – even if some memories are less than pleasant. I remember going to my first Glastonbury, aged 18 years old with my friend and someone stealing all our clothes and cash from our tiny tent ... while we were sleeping! We had to invest in some Army & Navy clothing to last us the weekend. In fact most of my horror festival stories are from Glastonbury. I've been to more mudslides than I can remember. Also, one of my favourite memories ever, is seeing Jack White from the White Stripes and fellow Raconteurs all dancing on stage while I DJ'd the silent disco at the Reading Festival. Musically, I loved Macca [Sir Paul McCartney] at Glastonbury and Grace Jones at Sonar festival last year, such madness, also Pet Shop Boys at Latitude had the most amazing stage show. Gossip headlining the Radio 1 Stage at Reading Festival made me cry it was so emotional; the list of favourites is endless.

What would be your ideal festival line-up from acts past and present?

Wow okay, here's my "festival heaven" line-up, although sadly some bands are no longer gigging. The Beatles, Nirvana, Gossip, LCD Soundsystem, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Kids In Glass Houses and The Blackout.

What's special about Bangor, this year's Radio 1's Big Weekend venue?

I was born in Bangor and there's an incredible atmosphere in the town – it has its own special aura. The location is spectacular, nestled between mountains and sea, with Anglesey and Ireland only a stone's throw away to the north. Snowdonia and the slate mines of Llanberis and Blaenau Ffestiniog are to the south, to the east is the faded seaside glamour of Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, and to the west are the beach huts, speed boats, wakeboards and some of the UK's priciest beachside resorts around Abersoch. Even Bangor, the town itself, starts with the regal hillside university properties and swoops down to the cathedral and the main streets and shops before winding their way back up to the opposite hill. When I lived here I'd always head off exploring and walking in the mountains. The remoteness and inaccessibility is also its beauty, it has stood alone for centuries, protected from modern society, and that's why the Welsh language is so strong in the area.

Do you have any hot tips for the Fringe Festival? Any Welsh bands to look out for?

Try and see as much as possible, some of my favourites include the Colwyn Bay night on the Tuesday, which is going to be hardcore with Leucine, Bastions, Kick Start Kitty and Die! Chihuaha! Die!. My biggest dilemma will be on Thursday night when the Fringe takes over four venues in Bangor. But I think I'll split my time between the electronic night at Greeks, with French beat maestro Cyrion at the helm, or retro surf guitar band Y Niwl with pals the Sigur Ros-inspired filmscape sounds of Yucatan at Bar 342.

Greg James, BBC Radio 1

Radio 1's afternoon show presenter Greg James started his DJ-ing career on the student station at the University of East Anglia, where he studied drama.

Initially joining Radio 1 as cover for JK and Joel and for Sara Cox's weekend show, Greg made the early breakfast show his own before moving on to the afternoon show.

Greg can boast of having made an appearance in EastEnders – he once played a DJ in the Queen Vic.

Which act are you most looking forward to seeing at the Big Weekend?

I actually managed to miss Pendulum last year and can't wait to see them this time. I'm keen to see how the new big female acts do this year alongside Cheryl Cole and Alicia Keys, so my eyes will be on Florence, Ellie Goulding and Marina And The Diamonds.

What's your earliest concert or festival memory?

Seeing The Corrs at Earls Court when I was about 13. I went with my dad and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

What would be your ideal festival line-up from acts past and present?

Coldplay, Kings Of Leon, The Strokes, Dire Straits, Maximo Park and Mumford And Sons. I'd put Florence on the bill too. Oh and Feeder – a festival band.

What's special about Bangor, this year's Radio 1's Big Weekend venue?

The further out of London you go, the more people appreciate the event you put on, because there are parts of the UK that aren't served well with the big shiny festivals. That's where Radio 1's Big Weekend comes in. We don't do them in the obvious, easy, tried and tested locations. The site is in a beautiful part of the world and all of us can't wait to have a look around. Who would ever have thought Rihanna would play in a field in Bangor? That's why it's a special event – it's always the unexpected.