Chaka Khan and Simple Minds Lead Radio 2 In The Park 2026 Tickets Demand
Chaka Khan and Simple Minds will headline Radio 2 in the Park in Stirling, with radio 2 in the park 2026 tickets now drawing attention to a three-day bill at City Park from 11 to 13 September. The weekend also marks the first major music event in Scotland for three years, and every live performance will be carried on Radio 2, Sounds and iPlayer.
City Park, Stirling
Chaka Khan called Stirling a “magical place” and said, “I can't wait to share the songs, the love and make some beautiful memories together,” as she prepares to top the Saturday bill. The Script, ABC, Emilie Sande, Jack Savoretti, Lulu and Texas will play before her, giving the day a run of familiar names that should keep the crowd moving before the headliner steps on.
Simple Minds will close Sunday after sets from Deacon Blue, Level 42, James Blunt, Cast, Blue and Appleton. Jim Kerr said the festival comes ahead of the band’s 50th anniversary next year and that it will be Simple Minds’ first and only UK gig this year, adding, “It's going to kick off a whole lot of momentum for us so we are already really looking forward to it.”
Radio 2’s Scotland return
Friday night starts with a DJ party night featuring Radio 2 presenters Sara Cox, DJ Spoony, Gary Davies, Michelle Visage and Rylan. That gives the event a broadcast-first shape before the weekend concerts begin, and it also turns the Park into a live radio production rather than a one-off festival bill.
Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Dundee in 2023 was the last major music event in Scotland, so this booking restores the broadcaster’s live-music footprint north of the border after a three-year gap. Jeff Smith called it “a real privilege” to bring “some of the world's biggest artists, including many of Scotland's greatest, to the historic city of Stirling for this year's Radio 2 in the Park,” and said, “The range of musical genres represented is a testament to the breadth and diversity of music played on Radio 2 - there is truly something for everybody.”
Stirling’s February lights
Several Stirling landmarks, including the Wallace Monument, were lit up in February ahead of the announcement, a local tease that now reads like the first step in a much larger rollout. For people planning around the event, the useful detail is simple: the headliners are set, the broadcasts are locked in, and the tickets now matter because the bill spans funk, pop, rock and Scottish acts across one -backed weekend.
