The backstage tour on Yourkenttv
Top US star Usher will now open the Big Weekend in Maidstone with a bang.
In a change to the billed line-up the R'n'B sensation will be the first act on the main stage at Mote Park on Saturday - instead of The Hoosiers.
He will drive on to the main stage in a classic 1968 firebird to open the two-day Radio 1’s music festival.
The star, whose hits include Yeah and Caught Up, will be followed by The Hoosiers and then The Feeling.
The Big Weekend, for which a staggering 518,000 people applied for tickets for, will be headlined by Madonna and The Kooks on the main stage, with The Editors and The Raconteurs headlining the In New Music We Trust Stage.
More than 50 top UK and international bands and DJs will appear across four stages, which are now in place along with more than 8km of fencing, 3km of temporary road, 4km of temporary floor covering, 50 dressing rooms and offices,as well as enough power, audio and video cable to stretch from Maidstone to Preston, and 300 mirror balls.
To take a guided tour of the festival site and the stages now in place click here.
About 34,000 tickets have been allocated with the majority going to music fans in Maidstone and the rest of the county.
Forty-five per cent of the tickets went to people living in the county town, and a further 40 per cent went to fans across the rest of Kent.
Ten per cent went to the surrounding areas of Sussex, Surrey, Essex and London, and five per cent were allocated across the rest of the UK.
There has been speculation by residents that the ticket allocation did not favour people in Maidstone and some have suggested that they should turn up to the event anyway.
Radio 1 has confirmed this was not the case and tickets were allocated in favour of local residents.
A spokesman for Radio 1 said: ‘"If you don't have a ticket for Radio 1's Big Weekend then our message is not to come down to the event as you won't be able to get in.
“The whole weekend will be available to watch and listen across BBC TV, Radio 1, red button and online so people can still enjoy all the music, even if they don't have a ticket."
Chief Superintendent Alistair Hope, from Kent police, also urged people not to waste time and money travelling to Maidstone unless they have a genuine ticket.
For more information about Radio 1’s Big Weekend and how your can watch and listen ot it if you failed to get a ticket visit www.bbc.co.uk/radio1.
POSTED: 08/05/2008 14:59:16