This year’s Radio 2 in the Park will be held at a Lancashire park, it has been announced.

The music festival will bring live performances from some of the world’s most-loved pop stars to Moor Park in Preston.

Last year’s event was held in Leicester and saw Kylie Minogue, Soft Cell, Busted, Beverley Knight, Deacon Blue, James Blunt, Texas, Bananarama and Tears for Fears take to the stage.

Radio 2 in the Park will take place on Saturday, September 7 and Sunday 8 with this year’s acts to be revealed in early June.

The news was revealed by Gaby Roslin on Wednesday’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show as she filled in for Zoe Ball following the death of Ball’s mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Richie Anderson, who presents the travel reports on weekday mornings on BBC Radio 2, was at Preston North End's Deepdale Stadium, to give away tickets to lucky listeners.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, Richie said: “We are so excited for Radio 2 in the Park here in Preston, it's going to be amazing.

“Obviously we're here in Deepdale Stadium at the moment, but we're going to be just over the road at Moor Park and we are going to be bringing some world-class music acts to that park where people walk their dogs, where people jog, where people play football - it's going to be incredible.”

Walton-le-Dale resident Andy Fahey was the first to figure out the on-air clues, arriving at Deepdale Stadium in a matter of minutes - and now he's hoping for a star-studded line-up including Taylor Swift, The Struts, and Noel Gallagher.

He said: “As soon as he said ‘I'm on the north end of the park,’ I put my foot down on the accelerator and bombed it into the car park, and there they were.” 

The Bolton News: Walton-le-Dale resident Andy Fahey was the first to figure out the on-air cluesWalton-le-Dale resident Andy Fahey was the first to figure out the on-air clues (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

Moor Park is no stranger to hosting BBC music events as Radio 1’s Big Weekend was held there in 2007.

Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2 says: "I'm delighted that this year’s Radio 2 in the Park will take place in Preston. Following last year's epic extravaganza in Leicester, we can't wait to head north with our fantastic family of Radio 2 presenters, as well as some of the most loved music artists on the planet, to party with the good people of Lancashire!”

Adrian Phillips, Chief Executive at Preston City Council said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome the BBC to Preston with Radio 2’s flagship live music event, Radio 2 In the Park. As this year’s host city, we’re really excited to be staging two jam-packed days, full of incredible live performances from some of the music world’s biggest stars. This is a brilliant coup for Preston and will be a huge boost for the city. We can’t wait to hear who the line-up is for this year and to welcome thousands of Radio 2 listeners to proud Preston!”

The Bolton News:

The station will be decamping to the city for two days, along with many of its presenters. The full artist line-up will be revealed in early June, and tickets will go on sale shortly after. Details will be available here - bbc.co.uk/radio2inthepark.