Big names at festival:
TENS OF thousands of music fans – and some of the world’s top bands and artists – descended on Burton Constable Hall, near Hull, for Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
The event, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, saw people of all ages enjoying the free annual show, which travels to a different location every year.
World-famous acts appearing at the festival included Katy Perry, Kings of Leon, Little Mix and Biffy Clyro.
This year it was the turn of the UK’s City of Culture to do the honours and play host to festivalgoers from all over the country.
Organisers stepped up security in the wake of the tragic events in Manchester last Monday night, when 22 people lost their lives in a terrorist attack at Manchester Arena.
The crowds fell silent at 3pm on Saturday for a minute’s silence, which was led by Oldham-born Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, to remember the victims. Many artists, including Emeli Sandé, dedicated songs to the people of Manchester.
He said afterwards: “It was really daunting but the crowd were really respectful and just did exactly what I asked, which was just to be quiet for one minute, and it was so silent and the rapturous applause afterwards was really amazing.
“This festival feels a bit more special from previous Big Weekends because everyone is sort of being a bit more compassionate and thinking about one another.”
Katy Perry led tributes to the victims telling the crowd “we’re all in this together”. “We will still dance, we will still sing, we will still make music,” she said.
Ben Cooper, controller of BBC Radio One, said: “BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend is not just about the world’s greatest musicians. We’ve been working with Hull 2017, City of Culture, and our local partners to highlight the positive impact that young people in the area have in the region.”