BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend 2026 brought one of the UK’s biggest music festivals to Herrington Country Park in Sunderland between 22-24 May. For EP Team, it represented the largest and most complex operation the company has undertaken to date, delivered in partnership with Sunderland City Council, Big Green Coach, Specialised Security, alongside key stakeholders. Together, these organisations worked to ensure every aspect of the Zone Ex operation was carefully considered and delivered safely and efficiently.
From the outset, the event posed significant challenges. Herrington Country Park had never hosted an event of this scale before and questions remained over whether it was even possible. The surrounding infrastructure presented major obstacles, with no public transport serving the venue, limited parking capacity within walking distance and engineering works affecting local rail and Metro services. Recognising these challenges early, EP Team played a pivotal role in transforming the vision into reality. Extensive site investigations and feasibility studies were undertaken to determine whether a festival of this size could be successfully accommodated and to develop solutions capable of supporting the anticipated demand.
Success for the client was defined not only by delivering a memorable festival experience, but also by ensuring attendees arrived and departed within planned timeframes, minimising congestion on the surrounding road network and maintaining safe and efficient movement across the site.
Equally important was ensuring emergency access routes remained operational at all times, providing effective crowd management during peak periods and minimising disruption to local residents and businesses. Positive engagement with local authorities, emergency services and operational partners was central to the project’s success.
Planning for the operation began eight months before the festival. Using a combination of risk-based analysis and data-led modelling, EP Team assessed likely travel patterns, audience behaviours and demographic information to develop a comprehensive transport strategy. This level of preparation proved essential. Without it, residential streets would have experienced significant parking pressures, attendees would have faced severe delays returning home and the volume of pedestrians using routes such as Chester Road could have created considerable risks had road closures not been implemented. The planning process ensured that every aspect of the operation was robust, efficient and capable of adapting to changing circumstances.
A fully integrated approach allowed EP Team to deliver multiple services under one coordinated structure. These included traffic management, parking management, event infrastructure, logistics, stewarding, security, hostile vehicle mitigation, travel planning consultancy, parking sales and pick-up and drop-off operations. Bringing these services together under a single operational framework ensured consistency, improved communication and enabled swift decision-making throughout the event.
Collaboration was fundamental to the project’s success. Sunderland City Council and the local highways authority played a key role in planning approvals and traffic coordination, while the emergency services helped ensure public safety and emergency preparedness.
Working closely with Big Green Coach enabled the procurement and management of transport resources required to support the transport hub operation, while Specialised Security provided support with access control and crowd management. Close coordination with the BBC production team ensured operational requirements on site were fully integrated into the wider event strategy. The strength of these partnerships allowed the operation to function seamlessly and provided the foundation for safe and efficient delivery.
In the days leading up to the festival, traffic management infrastructure, signage and access controls were installed across the site and surrounding road network. Trained teams were deployed at key junctions, transport hubs, access points and car parks, with operations coordinated from the event control structure.
A unified command approach, supported by regular briefings, shared radio communications and clear escalation procedures, enabled managers and operational leadership to maintain constant oversight and respond quickly to incidents as they arose. Continuous communication between divisional managers and event control ensured decisions could be made in real time and resources deployed wherever they were needed most. Despite temperatures reaching almost 30℃ across the weekend, the operation exceeded expectations
The event delivered excellent results. Traffic and transport plans performed successfully, incidents were managed quickly and attendee movements were maintained safely throughout the weekend. Strong collaboration between operational partners and stakeholders contributed to a positive experience for visitors while ensuring the surrounding area experienced minimal disruption. The operation demonstrated the value of detailed planning, effective communication and the ability to adapt in real time.
The project reinforced the importance of early engagement, collaborative working and flexible resource deployment. Lessons learned from the operation will help shape future projects, with further enhancements planned around resource allocation, staff briefing processes and on-site communication systems.
BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend 2026 represented a landmark achievement for EP Team and demonstrated how thorough planning, strong partnerships and operational excellence can transform a challenging site into the successful host of one of the UK’s largest music festivals.