Culture Swindon and Artsmad helped to organise the biggest outreach programme ever to accompany the Radio 1 Big Weekend in May 2009.

Besides helping young people to document the festival – by interviewing, photographing and videoing people involved during the the event at Lydiard Park - they also laid on a range of activities during the run up:

• a huge piece of urban art created by young people from Health First Youth Centre
  
• a secret R1 show at a school featuring JLS and Ironik
  
• a careers event at the Town Hall and visits to the site to see it being built
  
• The Big Bank Holiday event in the town centre
  
• and a series of Fringe gigs.

Festival

At the festival, up to forty thousand people flocked to Lydiard Park to enjoy Radio 1's Big Weekend, where Snow Patrol, Lily Allen, The Prodigy - and many others - gave great performances.

Here's one local resident's enthusiastic email:

"The air is throbbing with noise, there’s a buzz of expectancy as 20,000 revellers invade the normally tranquil Lydiard Park for a day for revelry. It’s a broad cross section of regular gig goers, people out for a drink and a laugh, and those who just want to take in some sun and vibes when the mood suits. The one thing they have in common is they're mainly from Swindon, and enjoying the opportunity to meet up with friends old and new.

The acts

"The ‘BBC introducing’ stage highlights tight indie pop from Little Comets, and monumental vocals from Marina and the Diamonds, surely just a big chorus away from the top ten.

"There’s slick pop with Alesha Dixon and Franz Ferdinand providing hits based cameos, but the star of the day is most definitely Lily Allen. The main stage is rammed for a performance which focus on the songs from her new album (‘It's not me it's you’) and hitting fever pitch for a version of Britney's ‘Womaniser’, which she took by the scruff of its neck and made her own.

"The Prodigy wrap things up with ‘firestarter’ and we all pretend its is 1996 again.

"Thanks Lydiard Park and Radio 1 - it’s been a blast."