Kicking off festival season as they always do, BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend returns to the Spring Bank Holiday weekend to serve as one of the first festivals of the year. After the success of their 2025 event in Liverpool, this year see’s its usual star-studded line-up make its way to Sunderland for 2026.

The Friday line-up consists of headliner Fatboy Slim, who will be closing the Radio 1 Dance Party, a new event that see’s some of the finest DJ’s open the festival. Also featuring on the day includes Clementine Douglas, FISHER, Sonny Fodera and MK on the main stage, while the New Music Stage will host Ahadadream B2B Arthi, L.P. Rhythm, horsegiirL and many more. The BBC Introducing Stage also returns, which will feature Jaguar, Max Jones and Ellie Scougall to name a few. The full Friday line-up can be found HERE.

Saturday will be headlined by Swedish pop star Zara Larsson, who originally opened the main stage in Hull back in 2017. She then went on to feature again on the main stage in 2019 (Middlesbrough) and 2023 (Dundee), making this her first time topping the bill at the event. Larsson boasts 3x #1 Swedish albums, with her sophomore release ‘So Good’ breaking into the UK Top 10 back in 2017.

Set to feature alongside Zara Larsson on the main stage for Saturday are Ellie Goulding, Louis Tomlinson, Skye Newman, Lola Young and Nothing But Thieves. The New Music Stage will play host to James Blake, Rachel Chinouriri, Florence Road, Mitski and more. The BBC Introducing Stage continues into the weekend with performance from local star Tom A. Smith, Heidi Curtis, Swindled, Aaron Rowe and many more. The full Saturday line-up can be found HERE.

Finally, the Sunday line-up will be headlined by BRIT Awards triumphant Olivia Dean, who walked away with three awards on the night and a performance of ‘Man I Need‘ in front of the sold out crowd at Manchester’s Co-Op Live. Niall Horan, CMAT, Myles Smith, Dermot Kennedy and Kehlani conclude the main stage names for 2026. Maisie Peters, Holly Humberstone, Alessi Rose, FLO and Ezra Collective will all feature on The New Music Stage with Finn Forster, Imogen and the Knife and Able Jack amongst others performance on the BBC Introducing Stage.

Tickets for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekender 2026 in Sunderland are available HERE.