The weekend’s performers didn’t disappoint (Picture: Getty/WENN/Redferns)

Staged across four corners of the UK (Belfast, Coventry, Perth, Swansea) and featuring more than 100 acts, from rapper Stefflon Don to a little-known singer-songwriter named Ed Sheeran, BBC festival Biggest Weekend certainly lived up to its billing.

And there were plenty of memorable moments during the unofficial replacement for Glastonbury.

From ill-timed broadcasting messages and heartfelt tributes to unlikely collaborations and world premieres, here’s a look at ten.

The Demi Lovato furore

#BiggestWeekend currently have this apology banner on the live stream for Demi Lovato ??? pic.twitter.com/Ww488FpvWp — Reseda Vanowen (@ResedaVanowen) May 27, 2018

The BBC iPlayer’s coverage of Demi Lovato’s set kicked up a major fuss on social media after it issued an apology, which many deemed entirely unnecessary.


‘We apologise if you’ve been offended by anything in this stream,’ was the message that popped up during Cool for the Summer.



In the performance, Lovato grinded against a female dancer and told the crowd, ‘Love who you wanna love, and go tell your mother.’

But having sparked a Twitter furore, the BBC later told Metro.co.uk that the message in question wasn’t in response to Lovato’s celebration of bisexuality, but to a burst of bad language, which hadn’t been broadcast to all viewers.

Lauren Mayberry drops the F-bomb

The blatant disregard of the BBC’s ‘Please Do Not Swear’ rule from Lauren Mayberry was much easier to spot, but her adorable reaction means few could have been offended.

The CHVRCHES frontwoman accidentally dropped the F-bomb while talking to the Swansea crowd about her grasp of the Welsh language.

But she quickly put her hands to her potty mouth after realising her mistake and went on to issue a sincere apology to the ‘people at the Big British Castle.’

Rita Ora’s Avicii tribute

One of the weekend’s most emotional moments came when Rita Ora opened up the main stage on Sunday in Swansea.

In front of a backdrop that read ‘Avicii 1989-2018,’ the chart-topper performed Lonely Together, her 2017 collaboration with the Swedish producer who died tragically last month.

Ora thanked the crowd for their response to the track, admitting that, ‘it’s always hard for me to sing that’.

Liam Gallagher lays on the charm

Both of the Gallagher brothers performed over the weekend, although perhaps wisely they were kept apart, with Noel and his High Flying Birds appearing at Perth and Liam taking to the stage at Coventry.

The latter proved he’d lost none of his distinctive charm when apropos of nothing he opened his set with the slightly backhanded compliment of, ‘Alright, Coventry, don’t listen to what people say about you, you are a proper city.’

The One Direction throwbacks

Two members of One Direction appeared at Swansea, and although there might not have been a full-blown reunion, both proved they haven’t entirely forgotten about their boyband past.

First Liam performed a rendition of 1D hit History in front of a video montage of the band at their peak.

And then unarguably the best solo 1Der, Niall, treated fans to a reggae-tinged version of the group’s number one single, Drag Me Down.

Shawn Mendes rocks out

Shawn Mendes and James Bay’s duet of the former’s hit Mercy may have been a bit of a no-brainer collaboration.



But Shawn Mendes and 30 Seconds to Mars?

Yes, the teen idol, who released his self-titled third album on Friday, surprised everyone when he performed guitar duties for Jared Leto and co. during their rendition of Rescue Me.

The surprise collaborations

And that wasn’t the only surprise collab of the weekend.

Ash and The Undertones, Courtney Barnett and half of The Breeders, and Steel Banglez and Big Shaq were just a few of the other major names who decided to join forces much to the crowd’s delight.

Craig David’s mixtape set

Craig David proved to be one of the most popular performers of the whole festival as he delivered a hit-packed set spanning 18 years (‘We’re keeping this whole thing moving like a mixtape’).

Alongside his classic number ones Fill Me In and 7 Days, the comeback king also brought out Bastille’s Dan Smith for a rendition of their recent hit, I Know You, in front of the weekend’s biggest crowd.

Taylor Swift keeps it short, but sweet

Taylor Swift appeared to take on board the age-old advice of ‘always leave them wanting more’ with a brief six-song set on Sunday night.

But the superstar still managed to pack in a number one (Look What You Made Me Do), two bona fide classics (Blank Space, Shake It Off) and a number of plugs for her upcoming tour in a tour-de-force performance, which proved that sometimes it’s quality, not quantity.

The world premieres

It’s always risky debuting new music at such an event, but Public Service Broadcasting and Underworld both managed to do so in style.


The former, renowned for interweaving samples of archive footage into their music, premiered a suite of songs featuring the voices of Titanic survivors that was specially composed for their Belfast set.

While the latter used their Saturday night headline slot to showcase their brand new collaboration with legendary rocker Iggy Pop, Bells and Circles.

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