Glastonbury gap year to be filled by new BBC Music festival

The Biggest Weekend will run from 25-28 May

With Glastonbury taking a year off in 2018, there's already one new festival hoping to fill the mud-and-music gap.

The BBC has announced plans to host The Biggest Weekend while Glasto has its traditional fallow year.

The four-day festival will take place in May across four sites in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The last time Glastonbury had a year off, in 2012, BBC Radio 1 brought its Big Weekend festival to Hackney.

It coincided with the London Olympics, which took place in the capital a few weeks after the festival.

The Biggest Weekend is scheduled for the late May bank holiday weekend (25-28 May) - earlier than when Glastonbury normally is.

More than 175,000 tickets will be made available, which is more than the number sold for Glasto, but this one is across four locations.

The BBC said it will bring "the biggest artists in the world" to the event - but headliners won't be announced for some time yet.

Those who don't fancy the mud and rain will be able to watch and listen to the coverage on various BBC outlets.

More than 175,000 tickets will be made available for the event

Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3 and 6 Music will all broadcast live sets from the weekend, while BBC Two and BBC Four will lead the TV coverage.

Don't worry if you're away that weekend - because all the sets will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

Bob Shennan, director of BBC radio and music, said the corporation "has a strong history of bringing the nation together for some special moments, and this is the biggest single music event ever attempted by the BBC".

"We will be celebrating the diversity of music from four different corners of the country, bringing the best UK music to the world and the best global music to the UK."

Katy Perry headlined BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Hull this year

The festival will be for one year only and there are no plans for it to become an annual event.

Glastonbury takes a break every five to six years to prevent excessive damage to the site.