American hip-hop artist Jay-Z has been announced as the headline act for the first day of Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend in June.
Other acts on the bill for the East London event ahead of the Olympics include Jessie J, Ed Sheeran, Leona Lewis and Will.i.am.
It’s instead of a ‘Big Weekend’ this year, and takes place on 23 and 24 June on Hackney Marshes in front of 100,000 listeners. Registration has opened for the free tickets and closes at 11pm a week on Monday (19 March). Last year, around 800,000 people applied for tickets for the Big Weekend in Carlisle.
Jason Carter, Event Director for Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend says: “Our goal was to deliver the most ambitious and exciting event in Radio 1’s history and with the artists already announced I think we’ve achieved that, but to now add the world’s biggest hip hop icon, Jay-Z to the line-up, is fantastic news!”
Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney says: “The Hackney Weekend is shaping up to be the outdoor music event of the year and with Jay-Z now confirmed, demand for tickets will be even greater. There’s still time to register to be part of the borough’s biggest ever event. ”
The main headline act for the Sunday of the Hackney Weekend hasn’t yet been announced.
Posted on Friday, March 9th, 2012 at 12:08 pm by RadioToday UK