BBC Radio 1 announced today (Monday 21 April) that the station will kick off the 2008 festival season with the biggest female artist on the planet headlining Radio 1’s Big Weekend – Madonna.

The event takes place at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent, on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 May. Chris Moyles announced the big news and the full main stage line-up on his show this morning. The line-ups for the rest of the stages will be announced throughout the day on Radio 1.

Across the weekend and over four stages, over 30,000 lucky music fans will enjoy a stellar line-up of over 50 UK and international artists alongside world-class DJs. Radio 1’s Big Weekend is the station’s free flagship event and the UK’s biggest free ticketed music festival.

The main stage line-up in full is:

Saturday 10 May
Gates open at noon, curfew 10.00pm

Main Stage

* Madonna
* Usher
* The Fratellis
* Robyn
* Duffy
* Scouting For Girls
* The Feeling
* The Hoosiers

Sunday 11 May
Gates open at noon, curfew 10.00pm

Main Stage

* The Kooks
* Nelly
* Adele
* Newton Faulkner
* Goldfrapp
* The Enemy
* Pigeon Detectives
* One Republic