Having been one of the many festivals affected by the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, Radio 1 have taken the yearly event online. Meaning all the listeners who were disappointed at not being able to see the acts live, can watch them perform from the comfort of their own home.
Acts that have taken the transition can be found on the BBC Radio 1 page and you can watch acts such as Doja Cat, Niall Horan, Sam Smith and Blossoms among many others. Along with new performances they also have some classic performances from years gone by. They have performances from ASAP Rocky, Jay Z, Nas and The 1975 going up sometime over the weekend.
Pots, pans and a bed!
We LOVE @Blossomsband #BigWeekend set! Hear it on @BBCSounds https://t.co/Yxg1uVSawA pic.twitter.com/D8FECmvLRT
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) May 23, 2020
Other festivals may want to take a leaf out of the BBC’s book as this has gone down a treat with fans with them commending the effort taken by the broadcaster to give the public a ray of light through these somewhat dark times. Along with the performances, they also conduct interviews with some of the performers that give insight into the festival. Most notably Greg James did one with Chris Martin about Coldplay’s Big Weekend performance in Exeter.
“It felt very special and it was a beautiful day”
Chris Martin from @coldplay on his homecoming headline set from #BigWeekend Exeter 2016. Hear it now on Radio 1 and @BBCSounds pic.twitter.com/sxwmAF6CMy
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) May 23, 2020
Having the artists perform from their own homes also gives the fans a look into their life that they will seldom get the opportunity to see. This, in turn, makes the interactivity of the online festival second to none. Bringing the artist and fans closer than ever before though, in actual fact, they’re further away.
This will no doubt ease the festival blues of the public as they will at least be able to see the prospective line up play in some format, though it will not come close to the experience of a festival.
Some may view it as a luxury and see the bright side of trading the muddy fields, cold tents and wet socks for central heating, warm clothes and plenty of food. I, for one, do not. Alas you can not beat a festival.
