BBC Radio 2 in the Park Preston: Everything you need to know

Vernon Kay DJing in the DJ tent during the Pre-Party Pic: Blog Preston

The highly-anticipated BBC Radio 2 in the Park festival is here at Moor Park in Preston.

Festivities will be kicking off with a Radio 2 DJ Pre-Party on Friday evening with headline acts such as Sting and Pet Shop Boys to soundtrack Saturday and Sunday.

More than 30,000 people are expected to attend each day of the festival, with a host of food trucks and entertainment to give the city a ‘£4 million shot in the arm’.

Blog Preston has put together an ‘all you need to know’ guide for anyone attending the festival.

Line-up and timings

BBC Radio 2 have released approximate show times for each day of the festival, once you have left the site, re-admission is not permitted.

Exact line-up times will be on lanyards available to purchase once within the festival site. Below are some indicative timings.

Friday 6 September

Gates open: 17:00
Stage entertainment starts: 17:45
Last entry to the event: 21:30
Event ends: 22:45

Line-up

Vernon Kay
Rylan
DJ Spoony
Scott Mills
Sara Cox

BBC Radio 2 in the Park provisional road closure map — BBC Radio 2 in the Park site map

Saturday 7 September

Gates open: 11:00
Stage entertainment starts: 12:00
Last entry to the event: 20:30
Event ends: 21:45

Line-up

Main stage with provisional set times which are all subject to change.

Sting (headline act) – 8.30pm – 9.45pm
Sugababes – 7pm – 7.45pm
Snow Patrol – 6pm – 6.30pm
Kim Wilde – 5pm – 5.30pm
Craig David – 4pm – 4.30pm
Pixie Lott – 3pm – 3.30pm
Shaznay Lewis – 2pm – 2.30pm
Travis – 1pm – 1.30pm

DJ stage:

Dermot O’Leary’s Alternative Sounds of the 90s
Jo Whiley’s Shiny Happy Playlist
Michelle Visage’s Handbag Hits
Romesh Ranganathan’s For The Love of Hip Hop
Rylan’s Rybiza Anthems
Scott Mills’s Wonder Years
Tony Blackburn’s Golden Years

Sunday 8 September

Gates open: 11:00
Stage entertainment starts: 12:30
Last entry to the event: 20:30
Event ends: 21:40

Main stage: all timings, from BBC iplayer listing, are provisional and subject to change.

Pet Shop Boys (headline act) – 8.15pm
Manic Street Preachers – 6.30pm
Sister Sledge (feat. Kathy Sledge) – 5.30pm
Gabrielle – 4.30pm
Shed Seven – 3.30pm
Paul Heaton – 2.30pm
Delta Goodrem – 1.30pm
Haircut 100 – 12.30pm

DJ stage:

DJ Spoony’s Good Groove
Gary Davies’s Sounds of the 80s
Michael Ball’s Broadway Bangers
Paddy McGuinness’ Sunday School Disco
Sara Cox’s Wower Hour
Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm Nation
Vernon Kay’s Dance Sounds of the 90s

Tickets

All tickets for the event are digital. People are able to access them via the Ticketmaster app, where they will be presented with a barcode to scan on the day (so, make sure your phone is charged!)

BBC Radio 2 did say that those attending should be able to access their barcode two weeks before the event. However, after a delay Blog Preston understands that tickets were made available yesterday (Wednesday) and are ready for access.

BBC advises anyone who is having issues to contact Ticketmaster’s customer service team.

Weather

Preston is known to be one the wettest cities and towns in the UK. Luck seems to be onside this weekend according to the forecast.

Here are the latest predictions from Met Office and how it looks for each day.

Friday

Afternoon – Due to be sunny intervals from 4pm onwards, 23 degrees, and a breeze of 32mph

Evening – Temperatures at 19 degrees on a mild evening, although it will become overcast around 7pm.

Saturday – see an hour-by-hour forecast for Saturday

Morning – Temperatures of 16 to 18 degrees with sunny intervals and light winds of 20mph.

Afternoon – Highs of 21 degrees between 1pm to 4pm and continued sunshine. There’s a 20 per cent chance of rain.

Evening – Starts to cloud over by 7pm but temperatures stay around 19 degrees. There’s a 10 per cent chance of rain.

Sunday – see an hour-by-hour forecast for Sunday

Morning – Light rain and temperatures of 17 degrees

Afternoon – Rain starts to get heavier, 18 degrees

Evening – Heavy rain, with the worst between 9pm to 10pm. Windy gusts of 30mph.

The DJ tent at BBC Radio 2 In The Park Pic: Blog Preston

Travel – parking, taxis and drop-off points

The event is taking place in Moor Park, Moor Park Avenue, Preston, PR1 6AS which is situated near the Deepdale Stadium.

A shuttle bus service will operate between Moor Park and Preston city centre on Saturday and Sunday. It is recommended tickets are booked in advance via the Big Green Coach website. The pickup and drop off point will be at Central Bus Station on Tithebarn Street. Local bus services such as the 19 and the 40 will also be running.

For those arriving by car, a number of ‘Park and Walk’ car parks are available, including around UCLan and the city centre. Full details on parking available for the festival.

Residential streets and roads surrounding Moor Park will be protected by a resident’s parking protection zone during the hours of 8am and midnight on Saturday and Sunday. A full list of roads protected can be viewed here.

A designated area will be available for family and friends pick up and drop off at Sainsbury’s on Flintoff Way, while a designated area will be available for Hackney Cab Taxis and Private Hire at Preston North End’s stadium. There will be a ‘geo-fence’ in place to stop ‘Uber chaos’.

The main road closures are set to be in place around Moor Park from 8:30pm to midnight, on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8, to allow people to exit the park ‘swiftly and safely’. You can view a full list here.

Other information – food, drink and entry rules

Food and drink will be available on site. There’s 50 food stalls planned for the festival and here’s the full drinks offer available and all prices.

The event is cashless.

Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Under 16 wristbands will be available with space to write the phone number of an adult in case of emergency.

Bags are restricted to A4 size and only one per person.

Banned items include: alcoholic drinks (these are to be bought inside the festival), glass items (including perfume and aftershave), large bags, barbecues, fireworks, flares, weapons, illegal substances, drugs, liquid fuels, selfie sticks, walkie talkies.

No animals except assistance dogs are permitted.

One folding chair or picnic blanket is permitted on site per person however, they can only be set up within the designated area on site as signposted.

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