BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend has built a reputation for delivering the kind of moments that live rent-free in your head for years. Sunderland 2026 didn’t just live up to that reputation — it raised the bar considerably. Here are the five moments that hit hardest.
1. Ezra Collective Turn the Tent Into the Best Party in the North East
There are festival tent sets and then there is whatever Ezra Collective did at Big Weekend. From the first beat, not a single person stood still. Not one. The tent became this joyous, euphoric, completely unhinged celebration — arms in the air, strangers dancing together, everyone entirely unbothered about how they looked. It felt less like a gig and more like someone had accidentally booked a Mercury Prize-winning jazz-funk band for their mate’s birthday party and nobody was complaining.
Ezra Collective are one of the best live acts in the country right now. If Sunderland didn’t already know that, they do now.
2. Myles Smith Brings Out Niall Horan and Nobody’s Ready For It
Myles Smith is already having an absurd 2026. Brit Rising Star, a fanbase growing faster than anyone predicted, and a Big Weekend slot he was absolutely making count. And then — casually, as if it was nothing — out walks Niall Horan.
The crowd’s reaction was immediate and enormous. Watching the two of them perform their collaboration live, both of them grinning like they couldn’t quite believe their luck either, was one of those pure festival moments that no algorithm can manufacture. Surprise guest appearances live or die on the chemistry. This one had it in spades.
3. Zara Larsson Gets Lifted Into the Air Above Herrington Country Park
Saturday’s headline set from Zara Larsson was already operating at a very high level. Great production, brilliant setlist, a crowd that was fully, completely, unreservedly hers. And then she got lifted into the air above the crowd and things escalated beyond that.
It’s the kind of moment that works on every level simultaneously — visually spectacular, completely unexpected, and somehow entirely on brand for an artist who never does anything by halves. The production team deserve a bonus. The crowd’s collective reaction was one of the sounds of the weekend.
4. Maisie Peters Addresses the Crowd Like a Disappointed Supply Teacher
Unscripted festival moments are the ones you remember longest. Nobody is going home and forgetting whatever Maisie Peters was doing when she decided mid-set to address the crowd with the energy of a teacher who has genuinely had enough of year 10’s behaviour.
Calm. Pointed. Slightly exasperated. Absolutely hilarious. Her fanbase — one of the most devoted and enthusiastic in British pop — were completely beside themselves. She knew exactly what she was doing. They all knew exactly what she was doing. It didn’t matter. Everyone had the time of their lives. Classic Maisie.
5. Niall and CMAT got right into the crowd and Herrington Country Park completely lost it
Different sets. Different days. Same result: absolute, brilliant, joyful pandemonium.
At separate points across the weekend, both Niall Horan and CMAT made the decision that the stage was too far from the people they were playing to — and did something about it. Watching either of them move around the barrier by crowd while still performing, surrounded by fans who looked like they were having some kind of out-of-body experience, was a reminder of what live music does that nothing else can.
The North East gave both of them everything all weekend. That was them giving it back.
Read our full Saturday and Sunday recaps.
Watch all of the performances on BBC Iplayer now.
0 Comments