Jay-Z, Rihanna ready to rock Radio 1's Hackney Weekend

By Greg Cochrane
Newsbeat music reporter Jay-Z is headlining on Saturday night at Hackney Weekend

Jay-Z, Rihanna and Ed Sheeran are among the acts preparing to play BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend.

The two-day event, which is part of the London 2012 Festival, is being held at Hackney Marshes in east London.

More than 100,000 people who applied for tickets will get to see more than 100 artists perform across six stages.

Jessie J, David Guetta, Florence & The Machine, Tinie Tempah and Kasabian are also due to perform.

It is the biggest live event organised by BBC Radio 1 in its 44-year history and more than twice the size of the network's annual Big Weekend.

The production has taken two years of planning, with Radio 1 being assisted by event organisers Festival Republic.

The main stage will be used at Reading Festival in August.

Read: Safety 'key' at Hackney Weekend

'Unprecedented demand'

More than 250,000 people applied for tickets when registration opened in February.

Some fans struggled to get on to the website at the time.

Radio 1 said the problems were caused by the "high volume of traffic after an unprecedented demand for tickets".

The majority of those tickets have gone to people from Hackney and the surrounding Olympic boroughs.

Jason Carter, event director of Hackney Weekend, said: "If you look at the line-up it's already gone down in history. The coverage is going to be amazing."

He said the reason the event was taking place in Hackney was to "shine a positive spotlight" on the area and to make the local young people "feel proud of where they live".

Singer Leona Lewis, who lives in the area, will be the first act on the main stage on Saturday.

"I'm opening, so I've got to put on a bloody good show," she said. "I'm hoping it's going to be awesome and everyone is going to have a good time."

Weather report

Organisers will be hoping the weather won't affect the weekend too much.

The forecast for east London on Saturday (23 June) is patchy cloud, with some showers expected on Sunday (24 June).

The Isle of Wight Festival has already had problems this week with some festival-goers stuck stranded on ferries because of bad weather and there's been gridlock on the island caused by flooding and mud.

Hackney Weekend organisers have confirmed that England's Euro 2012 quarter-final football match against Italy on Sunday will not be shown on big screens at the site.

Other artists performing this weekend include Jack White, Calvin Harris, will.i.am and Lana del Rey.

Read: The Legacy of the Hackney Academy as it closes its doors

Coverage of Hackney Weekend will be on BBC Three, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra and online.