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Radio 2 Live heads to Leeds

After being held in London for a number of years, Radio 2 Live is heading to the north of England, with its September festival taking place in Leeds.

The BBC radio station’s festival will be held on September 17-18 in Leeds’ Temple Newsan Park with over 20 artists performing across two stages.

Alongside the main stage at the festival, there will also be a Radio 2 DJ Tent for the first time, where presenters from the radio station will be playing classic tracks from Motown to music from the present day.

The artist line-up and dates for the ticket sales will be announced in June.

Previous editions of Radio 2 Live have been held in Hyde Park in London, and have featured global stars such as Kylie, Elton John, Pet Shop Boys, Take That, Blondie, Rita Ora and Lenny Kravitz.

During the pandemic, the radio station produced Radio 2 Live At Home which saw performances from international artists such as Sheryl Crow, Erasure, The Killers, John Legend and Gregory Porter. British acts included Craig David, Sir Tom Jones, McFly and The Pretenders.

In 2021, Radio 2 Live featured Manic Street Preachers, Steps and Westlife.

Jeff Smith, head of music for Radio 2, said: “Following our month of brilliant Piano Room performances in February, we’re thrilled that Radio 2 Live will be held in Leeds, one of the great cities of the North. Live music is at the heart of the station so we can’t wait for us all to gather at Temple Newsam for two days of brilliant music, bringing everyone together to feel great.”

Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, added: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Radio 2 Live to Temple Newsam and for people in Leeds to be able to look forward to performances from world-class artists on their doorstep. Leeds has hosted some of the biggest names in music over the years, so it’s great to see the city carrying on that proud tradition and to be working with the organisers to bring another major and unique event to Leeds.”

Image: Joey Thompson on Unsplash