BBC Radio 2 chiefs have told Music Week it is a “badge of honour” to be the UK’s most popular radio station as it gears up for the return of flagship live music event Radio 2 In The Park.
Bryan Adams and Def Leppard headline the 35,000-capacity event at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, from September 5-7. Belinda Carlisle, Ronan Keating, Jessie J, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Marti Pellow, Ella Henderson, Stereophonics, Anastacia, Soul II Soul, Suede, Louise, David Gray, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Essex’s own Olly Murs will also feature on the bill.
Following its debut in Preston last year, an opening night DJ party will again kick off, featuring sets by Rylan, Scott Mills, DJ Spoony, Michelle Visage and Vernon Kay.
“We’re really excited,” said Radio 2 head of station Helen Thomas. “We have our build up of shows in the city this week: Rylan and Scott doing Pop Top 10s at Chelmsford Theatre, Jo Whiley with a very special BBC Introducing show from the Hot Box venue and Jeremy Vine doing his Friday lunchtime show from a pub. These are all parts of our kind of ‘Fringe Festival’, if you like, in the build up to the main event.”
It will be the third year the festival has taken place outside London in the wake of editions in Leicester and Preston in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Tickets for the Saturday, headlined by Adams, are sold out.
We are the biggest single radio station in the UK by a long distance
Helen Thomas
“We've done this for 14 years, whether in Hyde Park or – in the last three years – going to different places across the UK,” said head of music Jeff Smith. “I'm really pleased with what we've got in terms of the lineup and it’s an amazing moment when the whole thing comes together. I think it's going to be a great weekend.”
Radio 2 pulled in 12.62 million in Q2 2025 to maintain its status as the UK’s single biggest radio station.
“We are the biggest single radio station in the UK by a long distance,” said Thomas. “We have 12.6 million listeners. We have the biggest Breakfast Show with Scott Mills, 6.2 million listeners, and the biggest radio show in the UK, Vernon Kay, with 6.6 million listeners. So to still be the biggest single radio station by a clear three million listeners a week is a badge of honour and we're very grateful for it.”
Here, Thomas and Smith delve deeper in this year’s Radio 2 In The Park offering, the success of the Piano Room and why the station will never rest on its laurels…
Since 2023, you’ve been taking Radio 2 In The Park around the country. How has that been working out?
Helen Thomas: “For me, it's the tent pole. Radio 2 In The Park is the biggest thing that we do all year and what is so important about getting out and about is that deep connection with the audience. Some of my favourite messages are from people saying, ‘I cannot believe that you're bringing Sting to the park where I normally walk my dog, and I can see the trucks have arrived and the fences are going up.’ So the people of Chelmsford are telling that story to our DJs, who are then telling it to the rest of the nation. And for us, it's like the ultimate school trip – the opportunities for all our presenters to get together like this are really rare.”
Jeff Smith: “In terms of Leicester and Preston, it brought around £5 million to the economy, whether from people dining, or going to pubs or whatever, on top of doing our show, so that’s really important.”
What factors influence your choice of host city?
HT: “We have a world class live events team at BBC Music that does all our major live events. The kind of things they are looking for, particularly, for a Radio 2 audience, is a park that number one, needs to be massive and number two, needs to be flat – because the Radio 2 audience likes to bring chairs to sit down. The park needs to be flat for reasons of egress in the event of an emergency. And there needs to be really good infrastructure: a sufficient number of hotels and good transport links, because we're talking about 70,000 people over the weekend. That is a lot of people to come in and go out, and we need to be sure that whatever location we pick can cope with that amount of traffic.”
Radio 2 In The Park consistently provides our biggest digital peaks in terms of on-demand and live consumption
Helen Thomas
Turning to this year’s lineup, why were Def Leppard and Bryan Adams selected as headliners?
JS: “I've always been intrigued by Def Leppard and how they became this phenomenon in America first and then built out. They're one of the world's biggest rock bands and I think it will be both a rock moment and a singalong moment. With Bryan, he's a legend and it will be his second time with us [after 2015 in Hyde Park]. What I'm always looking for is enough great singalong songs that can power that final part of the day, and you can't fail with Brian because he has so many incredible hits.”
HT: “And it's Def Leppard's only UK show of the year.”
JS: “It’s their only UK show because we had those conversations about 15/16 months ago and it ties into their plans. Part of my job is to have those conversations with agents, managers and record labels to work out timings.”
On a similar subject, a number of acts on the bill seem to be ready with new records, how coveted is the event for an album campaign launch?
JS: “Not just albums, but also tour launches. I think labels, artists and management look at the opportunities afforded by such a platform for that purpose. Clearly, our job is to entertain the audience and provide amazing content, but they are able to present new material within the context of their greatest hits, primarily, in front of a very broad audience. I think it's an important factor for people nowadays.”
HT: “We've also got our iPlayer and BBC Sounds coverage as well. Radio 2 In The Park consistently provides our biggest digital peaks in terms of on-demand and live consumption.”
JS: “We've got highlights on Saturday and Sunday on BBC Two, and the headliners going out on BBC Two those evenings as well. People can consume [the performances] across our platforms for 30 days, but we will also play tracks and some of the best moments of the weekend across the network for the next couple of weeks.”
This set of artists very much sums up who we are and what we do
Jeff Smith
What would you say about the blend of genres on the bill? It’s an interesting mix…
JS: “If you listen to Radio 2 during the day, you get a very eclectic mix of music. This set of artists very much sums up who we are and what we do, and how it moves in between mainstream pop and dance pop, with some independent alternative and into rock music via a singer-songwriter here and there. It's exactly what we play on the radio station – we're very aware of the multigenerational nature of the audience.”
HT: “That multi-generational approach extends to our presenters. Our second stage at Radio 2 In The Park is the DJ stage, where we’ll have hour-long sets from everyone from Rylan doing Rybiza Anthems, or Dermot O'Leary doing Alternative Sounds Of The 90s, to Michelle Visage’s Handbag Hits and Tony Blackburn doing his Golden Hour. We did it for the first time in Leicester when we first turned Radio 2 In The Park into a touring event – and it was so successful that we added the extra night last year in Preston. We're doing the same again at Chelmsford and have expanded the DJ tent this year because it was so popular. It runs throughout the weekend as well and it's a brilliant opportunity for our audiences to get up close and personal with our presenters. Honestly, the atmosphere in that DJ tent is something else. We have the biggest glitter ball in the world and you see generations of families dancing along to Jo Whiley or Sara Cox. I can't recommend it enough.”
It will be a home county show for Olly Murs, do you make a conscious effort to factor in local acts?
JS: “When I'm booking, I've always got in the back of my mind, can we have some local presence? And it doesn't always work out, but it has to a certain extent over the last few years, and certainly this year, with the likes of Jessie J and Olly. But also then when you bring in Rylan and a few of our presenters from Essex, the whole thing comes together so there's more of a story to it.”
HT: “And the local press is so excited about Radio 2 coming to town. We've got shops renaming themselves with some Radio 2 puns – Sole II Sole fish shop, Def Leppard-print Nails – the whole city has really embraced the fact that Radio 2 is coming to town!”
Since the festival takes place at the end of the season, does that avoid conflict with commercial events?
JS: “That evolved out of the fact that, when we did the show in Hyde Park, it was after Proms In The Park. It's a book end – you've got Radio 1’s Big Weekend at the start of that summer and here we are in September.”
Regarding the booking process, when will you start thinking about next year?
JS: “We’re already having those conversations. I've been doing this for a long time with Radio 1 Live, One Big Sunday and the road show and, in those days, it was much easier and there was much more availability of artists. More recently, it's become more and more challenging financially for everybody, so it’s really important to work ahead, work with agents, work with managers, and try and get in people's diaries earlier.”
I'm delighted with how the station is performing. It sounds so cohesive right now
Helen Thomas
Moving away from the festival, how important has Radio 2’s Piano Room initiative become as a platform for artists?
JS: “The Piano Room is flying across all of our platforms. As well as being a key component of what we're doing in terms of iPlayer and Sounds, I'm really pleased at how TV is being responsive and supportive in creating special evenings through Piano Room. Just this year, we've had over 100 artists through the Piano Room doors with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The most recent one we put out with Robbie [Williams] was incredible and we're hoping that will continue to go from strength to strength. We've got another Piano Room Month coming up in February, and once again we reach out to the labels, the artists, the management, and look for unique moments that we can put in the mix, as well as celebrating some of the greatest artists.”
Lastly, how pleased are you with how Radio 2 is performing in general?
HT: “I'm delighted with how the station is performing. It sounds so cohesive right now. We had the big change of breakfast [show host from Zoe Ball to Scott Mills] at the end of January and it's joyful to listen to what’s coming out of the speakers. It’s already so established, confident and funny, getting your day off to a great start with an unparalleled range of music. We play 15,000 different records every single year and no other radio station comes close to that – it's our special sauce. The radio market has exploded and changed. Brand extensions are being launched right, left and centre, and that's before you get to podcasts. There's more choice and demand for people's time and attention than there’s ever been. And we're not complacent. We don't rest on our laurels. But broadly speaking, I couldn't be happier with where we are.”
- Radio 2 in the Park is in Chelmsford, September 5-7. Tickets and info: www.bbc.co.uk/radio2inthepark. Listen on Radio 2, and watch live on BBC iPlayer, from 12:15pm on Saturday 6 September.
