Radio 2 In The Park 2026 to be staged in Stirling’s City Park this August
Radio 2 in the park 2026 will be held at City Park in Stirling, Scotland, from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August 2026, festival host Scott Mills announced on his Breakfast Show. The three-day event will bring presenters and major acts to the city and will be broadcast across Radio 2, Sounds and iPlayer, a move organisers say will put Stirling at the centre of the station’s biggest weekend.
Radio 2 In The Park 2026 at City Park, Stirling
The festival will run over three days from 7–9 August 2026 and is planned to take place across three stages at City Park. Tens of thousands of music fans are expected to attend the outdoor event, which the station created to bring large-scale artists to cities that may not otherwise host such concerts. Further information, including the full artist line-up and ticketing details, will be announced at a later date.
Scott Mills and Radio 2 presenters to broadcast from the city
Scott Mills revealed the location and dates on his Breakfast Show and the weekend will see many of Radio 2’s presenters decamp to Stirling for on-site broadcasting. Mills’ Breakfast Show attracts a weekly audience of 6. 5 million listeners, while Radio 2 is described as the UK’s most listened-to radio station with a weekly audience of 12. 7 million. A Friday-night DJ party will return to open the festival weekend, with presenters based in the city throughout.
Stirling Council and local landmarks illuminated in orange
Stirling Council Leader Cllr Susan McGill welcomed the announcement, saying the event will be an unforgettable celebration of world-class live music set against the backdrop of Stirling Castle and that it represents the city’s biggest music event yet and a huge boost for the city and the wider region. To mark the announcement, Stirling’s National Wallace Monument and the Tolbooth live music venue were illuminated in orange.
Programming, stages and broadcast plans
Programming for the weekend will be carried on Radio 2 as well as on Sounds and iPlayer, enabling both live park audiences and listeners and viewers at home or on the move to follow performances. Over three stages, some of the station’s presenters and a mix of UK and international artists will perform; organisers say the weekend is being built as one of Radio 2’s favourite three days of the year.
Historic context: past festivals and Radio 2 activity in Scotland
The Stirling event follows last year’s Radio 2 in the Park in Chelmsford and earlier editions in Preston in 2024 and Leicester in 2023. Radio 2 has staged outside broadcasts in Scotland before, including the Glasgow finale of Paddy McGuinness’ Children in Need Challenge in 2024, but this will be Radio 2’s first major live music event in Scotland since Music’s Biggest Weekend at Scone Castle, Perth in May 2018. In 2023, Radio 1’s Big Weekend took place at Camperdown Country Park in Dundee.
Recent entertainment and radio headlines mentioned alongside the announcement
Other recent industry and entertainment items highlighted around the announcement include: Matt Edmondson and Mollie King launching a real-time whodunit podcast; global brands bringing extensive coverage of the BRIT Awards; Jazz FM announcing its full lineup of awards nominees for 2026; the Radio Academy rebranding to Audio Academy and appointing a new Chair; Bauer taking BRITs coverage across Europe; Ofcom moving to require stations to create local news locally; CWR naming Lorna Bailey for weekday Breakfast; Dorset Coast Radio’s DAB+ expansion; the Radio Maria chief signing off after expansion; Radio 2 and Radio 4 featuring in BPG nominations; and a Sonifex sales manager retiring after 49 years. Tabloid-style items listed at the same time included headlines that a global superstar will play their first Scots show in 16 years, a huge country music star announcing a Glasgow show, a Wire star dying at 62 after a barn fire, DJ David Guetta, 58, welcoming a second child with a 34-year-old partner, an arrest related to Nancy Guthrie’s home amid a new video, and an item about Jessie Buckley following a BAFTA.
What makes this notable is that the station is committing its flagship live event and a broad broadcast operation—supported by presenters on the ground and multi-platform distribution—to Stirling for a three-day showcase, which local leaders say will elevate the city’s cultural profile and draw significant visitor numbers. The announcement sets a clear timeline: between 7 and 9 August 2026, City Park will host live stages, presenters and festival programming that will reach both tens of thousands on site and millions national broadcast channels.
