BBC's The Biggest Weekend promises "best seat in the house experience" as presenting line-up revealed

The presenting line-up and televised setlist has been revealed.
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The BBC have promised a "best seat in the house experience" as news of the broadcasting schedule and presenting line-up have been announced for their upcoming festival.

The Biggest Weekend, a four-day, four-site festival taking place in each country of the United Kingdom, takes place across the Bank Holiday Weekend (May 25-28). Biggest Weekend is seen as a one-off replacement for Glastonbury, which is in its fallow year.

BBC Radio 6 Music will be in Belfast on May 25 and 26, BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network will embark on Swansea on May 26 and 27, while Perth will host BBC Radio 2 on May 26 and BBC Radio 3 on May 25. Finally, Coventry will be the home of BBC Radio 2 on May 27, and BBC Radio 3 on May 28.

Speaking to Music Week, Rhys Hughes, BBC Head of Live Music & Events, Popular Music, and Jan Younghusband, Head of Commissioning, BBC Music TV, have shared details of which performances will be broadcast, promising more festival coverage than ever before on BBC One.

"I'm hoping it will be a visual spectacle, explained Hughes. "It really is the BBC at its best."

Younghusband elaborated: "We've chosen presenters that we feel will do a great job for the individual channels. The television coverage has presenters and context and interviews - it brings you a best seat in the house experience."

Graham Norton will front Saturday's coverage on BBC One, with Alex Jones, Clara Amfo and Nick Grimshaw hosting Sunday's action. Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, Taylor Swift and Jess Glynne will have their sets broadcast on the flagship channel.

Florence & The Machine, Sam Smith, Jessie Ware and Camila Cabello will be on BBC Two, while Snow Patrol, Chvrches and Wolf Alice will entertain BBC Four viewers.

The corporation have "quite stretching targets" in terms of audience ratings; the BBC's Glastonbury coverage reached 20.9 million viewers in 2017, figures they want to match, if not better. The BBC also hope The Biggest Weekend will leave a huge mark on the music market - last year, Glasto performers Ed Sheeran and Radiohead were Number 1 and 2 on the Official Albums Chart following the festival.

View the full line-up for BBC's The Biggest Weekend here.

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Christopher Bebbington

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So another 6 months of Ed Sheeran being number 1 after this event