BBC Radio 2 in the Park

The BBC Radio 2 in the Park 2023 festival is taking place on the weekend of Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th September in Victoria Park, Leicester. This coincides with the early arrivals weekend and is likely to cause disruption if you are moving into accommodation on one of those days.

Learn more about the event and line-up

The Village

The Village is about 2 miles away from Victoria Park, so there should be little disruption on site. However, you may find that travelling into or out of Leicester that weekend is much busier than usual, so be prepared for extra traffic on your journey.

What do you need to do?

All students in The Village should book an arrival slot before coming to accommodation.

The City

The City is very close to Victoria Park and the area is likely to be extremely busy throughout the weekend, with traffic, some nearby road closures and limited parking.

What do you need to do?

All students in The City should book an arrival slot and pre-book your parking in the Freemen’s Multi-Storey Car Park (MSCP) before coming to accommodation. The Freemen’s MSCP is open to the public, therefore we cannot guarantee spaces will be available if you do not pre-book in advance.

Should I arrive on the 16th/17th September?

International students with pre-booked flights, or students with earlier course start dates may need to arrive on the early arrival weekend. Where possible, we recommend you select an earlier/later arrival date (during the week before/after), to avoid the traffic and parking issues over this weekend. You can do this when booking your arrival slot on the accommodation portal.

If you need to arrive on the weekend of 16th/17th September, that isn’t a problem and our receptions will still be open 24/7 as usual. But you should be prepared that it may be very busy.

Pre-booking parking in the Freemen’s MSCP

For students in The City that are arriving between 13th and 22nd September, you will need to pre-book your parking in the MSCP on shop@le. This is to allow us to manage the number of available spaces and let new arrivals benefit from a reduced parking rate. You will pay a £1.00 rate for the arrival day you select.

Students arriving in The City during main arrivals (23rd/24th September) do not need to do this, you can take advantage of the reduced rate at the pay machines in the car park on that weekend.

Road closures

There will be a number of road closures in operation around Victoria Park over the weekend of 16th/17th September.

• Regent Road and Granville Road from junction of Tigers Way to A6 London Road – closed all day, Saturday and Sunday. With access only for pre-approved authorised vehicles.
• A6 London Road – closed from 21:00 to 00:00 on both days, to facilitate safe spectator exit from the event.
• Victoria Park Road closed between St Marys Road and St Leonards Road from 21:00 to 00:00 on both days, to facilitate safe spectator exit from the event.
• University Road will be one way only Southbound.

Please follow event signage and diversions when arriving in Leicester to access our sites safely.

Parking restrictions

There is strictly no parking in the roads surrounding Victoria Park to those without a resident’s permit. The existing parking permit scheme for Clarendon Park (plus an extension to this area) will be in operation from 9.00am Saturday 16th September until midnight Sunday 17th September.

Clarendon Park permit zone for BBC Radio 2 in the Park (PDF, 215KB)

The Morrisons car park on Aylestone Road is being used for pick up or drop off for the festival and, although the store will be open as usual, it will likely be very busy. We recommend students moving into The City use an alternative supermarket that weekend.

Information for residents

The below information has been provided by the organisers of BBC Radio 2 in the Park for residents in the local area around Victoria Park.

Build and break phase

The build phase of the event will commence on Thursday 31st August, and the park should re-open as usual by Saturday 23rd September.

Park closure

Parts of the park will be closed for the festival, including during the build and break phases.

From Friday 1st September to Tuesday 12th September, the cycle path will be closed from 00:00 - 07:00 each day. It will remain closed from Wednesday 13th September 00:00 to Tuesday 19th September 07:00. It will then return to being closed each day from 00:00 - 07:00 until Friday 22nd September, when it will return to being open 24 hours a day.

Key event timings

The event is open to the public from 11:00 each day. Under the terms of the Premises Licence, recorded music can be played from 10:30 each day and live music from 12:30. On Sunday 17th September, there will not be any amplified music until 11:40. The main stage performances are planned to end on Saturday at 21:45 and Sunday at 21:15.

Sound management

A sound management plan has been agreed with Leicester City Council as part of the Premises Licence Conditions. Sound levels will be monitored during performances in conjunction with the noise team from Leicester City Council.

Sound checks

Sound checks will be carried out at the following dates and times:

• Friday - 13:30 - 16:30, 16:30 - 18:00, 18:00 - 19:00
• Saturday - 09:00 - 10:30
• Sunday - 09:00 - 10:30

Pyrotechnic display

There will be a short end-of-show pyrotechnic display on Sunday at approximately 21:15 that will last for no longer than 3 minutes.