The return of Radio 1’s Big Weekend to Dundee in May is obviously an exciting prospect for music fans.
Within minutes of the announcement, social media was abuzz with chatter about the line-up and queries about ticket sales.
But you don’t need to know your Lewis Capaldi from your Arlo Parks to appreciate that this is also a huge opportunity for the city.
Dundee hasn’t hosted the festival since 2006 when 33,000 people flocked to Camperdown Park.
And the cancellation of the planned gathering in 2020, due to Covid, cost the region’s economy dear.
The host city for the 2019 event, Middlesbrough, estimated the Radio 1 Big Weekend had brought £2 million into the Tees Valley. Swansea says its stint generated £2.4M.
Dundee now has a chance to deliver an even greater shot in the arm to local hotels, bars and restaurants. – and to show the millions watching and listening elsewhere that this is a city where exciting things happen.
Radio 1 Big Weekend gives Dundee a unique stage
Music is big business – the industry is estimated to be worth half a billion to the Scottish economy in terms of tourism alone – and Radio 1’s Big Weekend gives Dundee an incredible platform.
Its a chance to underline it credentials as a music city; the birthplace of acts such as Michael Marra, The Associates and The View, and a place that has been bringing out the best in performers from The Beatles and David Bowie to last summer’s gigs by Stereophonics, Simply Red and Paloma Faith.
It is an opportunity for Dundee to show the entertainment world what it’s made of; to celebrate its rising talent and to demonstrate why the city should be an essential stop on every tour.
And with expectations that the majority of the tickets will be made available to residents in the Dundee area, it’s a moment for local fans to let their hair down and enjoy an experience that will live long in their memories.
The stage is set for a Big Weekend and Dundee is perfectly placed to make it happen
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