The DJs are back together, the chaos is dialled up, and day two is fully underway. Expect surprises, iconic performances, and possibly the most emotional Sugababes singalong in history. And yes — they are bringing the sunshine. Sort of.
🎧 BACK TOGETHER AND BRINGING THE ENERGY
Vicky Hawksworth, Nat O’Leary, Danny Howard, Melvin Odoom, and Ricky Haywood-Williams brought instant party vibes as they officially launched the day’s coverage. With the sunshine threatening to break through and ponchos still drying out from Friday’s downpour, the gang wasted no time setting the tone: fun, chaos, and full-on Radio 1 family energy.
Meanwhile, Joel Mitchell — in full festival dad mode — brought in BBC weather presenter Abby Dewhurst for a custom Big Weekend forecast. Her advice?
“Bring wellies, a waterproof, and super-hold hairspray.” A classic British festival vibe if there ever was one.
💬 CROWD ENERGY, SOGGY SHOES & SUNSHINE DANCES
Vicky turned up in a bright yellow dress and declared herself Liverpool’s personal ray of sunshine. Then came the infamous sunshine dance — a hand-choreographed attempt to blow the clouds away — with Nat and Danny pledging to join her on stage later for the full weather-summoning routine. Whether it works? Well, the skies stayed (mostly) dry, so who’s laughing now?
A heartwarming and hilarious moment came courtesy of Vick Hope, who — ahead of maternity leave — asked the crowd to help name her baby. Co-host Jamie Laing whipped the audience into a name-shouting frenzy. Vick, glowing in a rainbow maxi dress, soaked it up and beamed: “You lot might’ve just named this baby!”
Tom Grennan and Melanie C performing on the main stage during BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
🎤 THROWBACKS, SURPRISES & ALL THE LOVE FOR TOM GRENNAN
One name was on everyone’s lips: Tom Grennan. The team relived his Friday night headline magic, where he stunned with surprise guests including:
-
Mel C
-
KSI
-
Ella Henderson
Oh, and in case you missed it: a listener from Belfast texted in to say her mum shouted “YOU’RE FIT!” at Tom mid-song. Iconic. No notes.
In a deeply moving gesture, Mel C wore a Liverpool shirt with the number 9 and “Justice,” while Tom sported an Everton shirt with number 7. Together, their backs read “97” — a tribute to the 97 fans who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster.
Backstage, Grennan played Ball or Nothing (Radio 1’s chaotic truth-or-dare ball pit game). He’s now top of the leaderboard with 6 points, knocking off KTB and officially becoming a Big Weekend legend.
🎮 GAMES, GIGGLES & GOOD CHAOS
The party didn’t stop there. The DJs brought back Live-a-pool — a rapid-fire game where they had to speak for 30 seconds without repetition or hesitation.
Melvin’s topic? “Balls.”
That’s it. That’s the joke.
Also on deck: Vicky and Nat were hyping their DJ set later in the day — equal parts excited and terrified. Melvin stepped up as coach and professional hype-man, declaring, “We’re bringing the noise.”
Ed Sheeran’s surprise appearance
Yes, Ed Sheeran popped up completely unannounced in the New Music Tent. Most of the crew didn’t even know. “None of us expected arguably the biggest British artist in the world to just take over the new music tent”. Jamie admitted he had no clue Ed Sheeran was the Saturday surprise act because Radio 1 bosses didn’t trust him to keep it secret. It was an instant goosebumps moment.
Sam and Danni opened… the photo booth
Forget the main stage — Sam and Danni claimed bragging rights for being the first act to open the festival’s photo booth. They joked about the queues being “for the toilets” but assured everyone it was “actually for us.” Move over, headliners
Lauren Layfield sniffed the Blossoms
No, seriously. Lauren admitted on air she sniffed the armpits of Blossoms band members post-performance — to “check if they were sweaty.” Verdict? “Fresh as a daisy.” Welcome to peak Big Weekend.
Jamie claims he nearly arrived at the wrong Liverpool
Jamie got completely lost en route to the festival, claiming there were “two Liverpools.” He blamed Vic Hope for giving him the wrong train station info (she didn’t), then admitted: “I’m not usually someone who gets on a train.”
The Apple Dance lives on
A listener messaged in saying their mate Sam still performs Charli XCX’s “Apple” dance routine — taught to him by his ex. “He forgot her, but not the song,” they joked.
Garage MC transformation moment
One presenter accidentally turned into a full-on garage MC while introducing Sub Focus and Katy B: “I don’t know why. It just happened.” To be fair, the vibes were immaculate.
COMMENTS