Wireless Festival | |
Location: | 2005–2012: Hyde Park, London 2006–07: Harewood House, Leeds 2013: Olympic Park, London 2014: Perry Park, Birmingham 2014–2019: Finsbury Park, London 2021: Crystal Palace Park, London 2022: Crystal Palace Park; Finsbury Park; NEC, Birmingham 2023–2024: Finsbury Park, London |
Years Active: | 2005–present |
Founders: | Live Nation Entertainment |
Organised: | Live Nation and Festival Republic |
Sponsor: | Rockstar Energy (Official Partner) |
Next: | 12–14 July 2024 |
Genre: | Hip hop |
Capacity: | 50,000 |
Wireless Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, United Kingdom, and is owned and managed by Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock and pop artists; since the 2010s, the focus has shifted largely towards hip-hop and other genres; for example, urban contemporary music.[1] [2]
From its 2005 inception until 2008, the festival was sponsored by telecommunications company O2, and was called the O2 Wireless Festival. From 2009 to 2012, the main sponsor was Barclaycard, and the festival was renamed to Barclaycard Wireless Festival. In 2013, the sponsor changed to Yahoo!, thus renaming it to Yahoo! Wireless. In 2015, the sponsor became the fashion retailer New Look. Sponsorship then changed to delivery company Gopuff in 2021, and has remained the same for the 2022 and 2023 editions of the festival.[3] Sponsorship again changed in 2024, to be partnered with PepsiCo's Rockstar energy.[4]
The capacity of the 2023 event was just shy of 50,000 people.[5] Adjacent festivals were held in Leeds in 2006 and 2007, as well as Birmingham in 2014. In 2017, Live Nation also established Wireless Germany in Frankfurt, as well as Wireless Middle East in Abu Dhabi.[6]
The first festival took place in June 2005 and was in Hyde Park only. Tickets were £35 a day. Some of the acts on the line-up were (headline acts in bold):[7]
In 2006, the festival played in both Hyde Park and Harewood House. Tickets were £37.51 per day.
The Hyde Park festival ran from 21 to 25 June and on the bill were:[8]
The Harewood House festival ran from 24 to 25 June and tickets were £32.50 for the first day and £37.50 for the second. It featured:[9]
Tickets for both venues went on sale on 16 March 2007 and the festival took place between 14 and 17 June in Hyde Park, and 15–17 June at Harewood House. Tickets were £40 for one day, £75 for two, £105 for three or £135 for four days.
The acts for both Hyde Park and Harewood House were:[10]
The acts which performed the extra date in Hyde Park were:
For the first time, the Leeds festival offered camping facilities at the festival. Campers were allowed to stay on Lord Harewood's land for £25 for as many festival days as they wished. There were 3 stages this year, and the O2 Blueroom where only O2 customers were allowed to enter.
The 2008 O2 Wireless Festival spanned 4 days in Hyde Park, and was the last to carry the O2 sponsorship. An attempt to hold a parallel festival in Leeds similar to the Reading and Leeds Festivals arrangement was unsuccessful, and instead a variety of club nights featuring billed artists were held. Tickets were £45 per day.
The line-up was as follows:[11]
The 2009 festival was sponsored by Barclaycard and was cut from four to two days in Hyde Park. Tickets were £45 for one day or £80 for both. The line-up was as follows:[12]
The 2010 Wireless Festival was increased to three days and took place from 2 July to 4 July 2010. Tickets were £47.50 for one day, £85 for two and £110 for three days. The line-up was as follows:[13]
The Sunday date sold out in record time, three weeks before the festival.[14]
The 2011 Wireless Festival was held from Friday 1 July to Sunday 3 July 2011. Tickets were £48.50 (Saturday/Sunday) or £49.50 (Friday) for one day, £92 for two and £130 for three days. The Black Eyed Peas headlined the Friday, The Chemical Brothers on the Saturday, and Pulp reformed after ten years to play the Sunday and other festivals in 2011. The Black Eyed Peas date had sold out by the end of June, while tickets for the other two days remained on sale until the festival.
The 2012 Wireless Festival was held from Friday, 6 July to Sunday, 8 July. Tickets went on general sale on 18 November 2011, priced at £49.50 (Friday/Saturday) and £52.50 (Sunday), plus booking fee.[15] All tickets for the Rihanna day sold out by the end of March, a new record for the festival.[16]
The acts which played were:
Line-up | |||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
---|---|---|---|
Main Stage Deadmau5 Pepsi Max Stage Barclaycard Unwind Stage Bandstand Stage | Main Stage Drake Pepsi Max Stage Barclaycard Unwind Stage Bandstand Stage | Main Stage Rihanna Pepsi Max Stage Barclaycard Unwind Stage |
The 2013 event was moved to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford after Live Nation pulled out of the tender for Hyde Park due to curfew issues.[17] The festival was held from Friday, 12 July to Sunday, 14 July 2013, and tickets were priced at £57.50 for day tickets and £110 for two days, plus booking fees. The event was sponsored by Yahoo!.
The line-up for the festival was:[18]
Line-up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Justin Timberlake Snoop Dogg Trey Songz John Legend Frank Ocean Miguel Kesha Wretch 32 Conor Maynard Bingo Players | Jay-Z Emeli Sandé Rita Ora Kendrick Lamar Miguel DJ Fresh Calvin Harris Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Flux Pavilion Zedd Iggy Azalea Devlin Taboo | Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake (Rihanna) will.i.am A Tribe Called Quest Nas ASAP Rocky Rizzle Kicks Katy B Jessie Ware Big Sean Magnetic Man 2 Chainz Porter Robinson Misha B |
In February 2014 it was confirmed that Wireless Festival 2014 would be held at Finsbury Park, London and Perry Park, Birmingham. The event was held over the weekend of 4–6 July 2014, on three stages. London day tickets were priced at £71.50 while Birmingham day tickets were priced at £68.75.[19] Weekend tickets for London went on sale at £210 while Birmingham weekend tickets were set at £172. On 3 July, the day before the first day of the festival, it was widely reported that Drake had pulled out due to illness, (making it the second time he had pulled out of a Wireless Festival). This was confirmed on the festival's social media sites and organisers announced that Kanye West would play instead of Drake in London, and Rudimental (who had been the support for Drake) would headline the Saturday in Birmingham with a special extended set featuring very special guests. The organisers also offered those attending on Saturday in Birmingham £20 of "Wireless Credit" which was redeemable against any concessions, merchandise stands and funfair attractions at the event.
London
Birmingham
On 31 January 2015, it was confirmed that the festival would be held in Finsbury Park between 3 and 5 July. The lineup was confirmed via the festival's Twitter page, with confirmation that Drake would return to the festival following his cancellation in 2014. It was also revealed that David Guetta and Nicki Minaj would perform as co-headliners on the Sunday, and that Avicii and Kendrick Lamar would be co-headlining on Saturday. As it was the festival's tenth birthday, there was a special 'birthday' event on Sunday, 28 June.Following the announcement of the lineup, several artists cancelled their appearance. In early June, Big Sean removed the Wireless appearance from his tour's website and he no longer appeared on the Wireless website's lineup. Around the same time, Boy Better Know were added to the Wireless 10 event. On 14 June, Stromae cancelled his Wireless appearance amongst other summer dates, after suffering a reaction to anti-malaria drugs whilst on his tour of Sub-Saharan Africa. Someone tweeted a day later to say she would also be cancelling a number of summer dates, including Wireless, due to having to undergo vocal chord surgery.The Friday sold out by the end of April, whilst the other three dates remained on sale until the festival.
Line-up | |||
Main Stage | |||
Sunday 28 June | Friday 3 July | Saturday 4 July | Sunday 5 July |
---|---|---|---|
Drake 20:20 - 21:50 Rita Ora 18:45 - 19:35 Chance the Rapper 17:25 - 18:15 Katy B 16:10 - 17:00 Kid Ink 15:00 - 15:45 G-Eazy 14:10 - 14:35 Disturbing London X DJ Charlesy Present: Sneakbo, Yungen, J Hus, Bugzy Malone and Section Boyz 13:00 - 13:40 | Drake 20:50 - 22:20 ASAP Rocky 19:05 - 20:05 Major Lazer 17:35 - 18:35 Labrinth 16:20 - 17:05 Joey Badass 15:20 - 16:00 Fuse ODG 14:25 - 15:00 Maverick Sabre 13:30 - 14:05 | Avicii 21:10 - 22:25 Kendrick Lamar 19:20 - 20:35 Childish Gambino 18:00 - 18:45 Gorgon City 16:55 - 17:35 Mary J Blige 15:45 - 16:30 Tinashe 14:50 - 15:20 Raleigh Ritchie 14:05 - 14:30 Conor Maynard 13:20 - 13:45 | David Guetta + Nicki Minaj 20:40 - 22:00 Jessie J 17:40 - 18:25 Clean Bandit 16:25 - 17:10 August Alsina 15:20 - 16:00 Charli XCX 14:20 - 14:55 Wretch 32 13:30 - 14:00 |
Stage 2/Pepsi Max Arena | |||
Sunday 28 June | Friday 3 July | Saturday 4 July | Sunday 5 July |
Public Enemy 19:20 - 20:10 Boy Better Know 18:25 - 18:55 Black Star 17:20 - 18:05 Raekwon & Ghostface Killah 16:10 - 17:00 De La Soul 15:25 - 15:50 Jhene Aiko 14:30 - 15:05 ILoveMakonnen 13:45 - 14:10 Bishop Nehru 13:00 - 13:25 | Nero 19:35 - 20:35 Duke Dumont 18:05 - 19:05 PartyNextDoor 16:55 - 17:40 Krept and Konan 15:50 - 16:30 G-Eazy 15:00 - 15:30 ILoveMakonnen 14:15 - 14:40 Vince Staples 13:30 - 13:55 | Knife Party 19:50 - 20:50 Netsky 18:25 - 19:20 DJ Mustard 17:15 - 18:00 Indiana 16:20 - 16:50 Robin Schulz 15:10 - 15:55 MNEK 14:20 - 14:50 KStewart 13:30 - 14:00 | Grandmaster Flash 19:20 - 20:20 Rae Sremmurd 18:15 - 18:55 Pusha T 17:10 - 17:50 Ciara 16:10 - 16:50 Arrested Development 15:10 - 15:50 Logic 14:15 - 14:45 Kiko Bun 13:30 - 13:55 |
Capital Xtra Presents Re:Wired Arena | |||
Sunday 28 June No Stage | Friday 3 July | Saturday 4 July | Sunday 5 July |
Lethal Bizzle 20:10 - 20:40 Klingande 19:15 - 19:45 Travis Scott 18:20 - 18:50 Ms. Dynamite 17:25 - 17:55 Collie Buddz 16:30 - 17:00 Little Simz 15:40 - 16:10 OCD: Moosh & Twist 14:50 - 15:20 Melissa Steel 14:10 - 14:30 Jermain Jackman 13:30 - 13:50 | Kurupt FM 20:20 - 20:50 3lau 19:25 - 19:55 Stormzy 18:30 - 19:00 Sinead Harnett 17:35 - 18:05 Bad Rabbits 16:40 - 17:10 OWS 15:50 - 16:20 Etta Bond 15:00 - 15:30 Nick Brewer 14:15 - 14:40 Ady Suleiman 13:30 - 13:55 | George the Poet 20:00 - 20:30 Shakka 19:05 - 19:35 Elliphant 18:10 - 18:40 Jaden Smith & Willow Smith 17:15 - 17:45 Tove Styrke 16:20 - 16:50 Jacob Plant 15:25 - 15:55 Damage 14:35 - 15:05 Samm Henshaw 13:45 - 14:15 | |
Wireless Festival 2016 was held on the weekend of 8–10 July at Finsbury Park. The lineup was announced on 9 March, with Calvin Harris to headline on the Friday, Chase & Status and J. Cole co-headlining on Saturday, and Kygo and Boy Better Know co-headlining on Sunday. On 16 March, Dua Lipa was announced for Friday. Three days later, Lady Leshurr was announced for Saturday. On 11 May, Wizkid and 99 Souls were announced for Friday, and Natalie La Rose, Angel, Shakka, Rude Kid, KStewart, The Manor, Jorja Smith, and A2 were announced for Saturday, while Fergie, Big Sean, Metro Boomin, Jay Sean, Ghetts, Thomas Jack, Fekky, Elf Kid, Sonny Digital and Father were announced for Sunday. On the same day, Lady Leshurr was moved to Friday. On 21 May Kyla was announced for Saturday. Wizkid had pulled out due to Visa problems.
Wireless Festival 2017 was held on the weekend of 7–9 July at Finsbury Park. The lineup was announced on 23 February, with Chance The Rapper to headline on Friday, Skepta headlining on Saturday and The Weeknd headlining on Sunday. On 28 March, Fetty Wap and Geko were announced for Friday, Travis Scott was announced for Saturday, and Bugzy Malone and Kojo Funds were announced for Sunday. On the same day, Cadet was moved from Sunday to Saturday. On 30 June, AJ Tracey was announced for Friday. Lil Uzi Vert was also part of the lineup, but pulled out, due to continued exhaustion. He was replaced by Pusha T. Wiley was also part of the lineup but also pulled out, due to delays with his travel plan. He was replaced by Lethal Bizzle.
Line Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Chance The Rapper Bryson Tiller G-Eazy Fetty Wap Zara Larsson Post Malone Flatbush Zombies Lil Dicky Big Narstie AJ Tracey Geko Noname Nef the Pharaoh | Skepta Travis Scott Rae Sremmurd Young Thug Sean Paul Lil Yachty Lethal Bizzle Section Boyz Yungen Dave MoStack Cadet Jez Dior The Age Of L.U.N.A Big Tobz Young T & Bugsey | The Weeknd Nas Tory Lanez Ty Dolla Sign Wizkid Pusha T Tyga Desiigner Bugzy Malone Hilltop Hoods Mike Skinner & Murkage Presnent Tonga Stefflon Don Yuna AJ x Deno Kojo Funds Abra Cadabra Topaz Jones |
Wireless festival was held on 6–8 July at Finsbury Park. The lineup was announced on 22 January, with J. Cole to headline on Friday, Stormzy on Saturday, and DJ Khaled with others on Sunday. The Festival was fully sold out within a day. On 9 April Cardi B announced her pregnancy, and therefore she pulled out. Three days later, Raye, Russ, Suspect, Big Shaq, Sneakbo, Davido, Ms Banks, Majid Jordan and Last Night In Paris were added to the lineup. On 14 May, AJ x Deno, EO, M Huncho, Just Banco, Big Heath, Romzy and Yung Fume were added to the lineup. On 3 July, J Hus pulled out, due to legal issues. Fredo also pulled out due to unforeseen circumstances. On the same day, Krept & Konan, Chip, Avelino, D-Block Europe and Ambush were added to the lineup. On 5 July, MoStack was moved from Saturday to Friday. On the same day Trippie Redd pulled out, due to unforeseen circumstances. On the day that DJ Khaled was meant to be headlining, it was announced that he had pulled out due to travel issues. He was replaced by a surprise guest, who turned out to be Drake.
Line Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
J. Cole Post Malone PartyNextDoor Big Sean GoldLink Wiley Wretch 32 Mabel MoStack Kojo Funds Belly Squad Bas Donae'o Just Banco Big Heath AJ x Deno EO | Stormzy Migos J Hus (cancelled) Krept & Konan French Montana 6lack A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Belly Majid Jordan Davido Big Shaq Chip Avelino Hardy Caprio Fredo (cancelled) Ramz Sneakbo Raye Ms Banks Last Night In Paris M Huncho Yung Fume Romzy D-Block Europe Ambush | DJ Khaled and Friends (cancelled) Drake (unannounced) Giggs Rae Sremmurd Lil Uzi Vert Russ Cardi B (cancelled) Rick Ross Playboi Carti Lil Pump Not3s Mist Ski Mask the Slump God 67 Trippie Redd (cancelled) Smokepurpp Jaykae Lisa Mercedez Suspect |
The Wireless Festival was held on 5–7 July at Finsbury Park. The lineup was announced on 28 January, with Cardi B and Migos to co-headline on Friday, Travis Scott headlining on Saturday, and ASAP Rocky headlining on Sunday. On 9 February, Cadet, who was meant to be performing on Saturday, died. Wireless kept his performance set, in order to remember him. On 13 March, One Acen, Lotto Boyzz, THEY., Tiwa Savage, Lady Sanity and Lil Yachty were added to the lineup. In April, Loski pulled out due to legal issues. On 8 May, Yungen was added to the lineup. On 14 June Megan Thee Stallion was added to the lineup. On 20 June, it was announced that a number of acts would be streamed globally, live in virtual reality, by using a platform provided by MelodyVR. Streamed content would also be available via Wireless's Facebook page and MelodyVR's Android and iOS VR/360 apps.[20] [21] On 1 July, Polo G was added to the lineup. Two days later, Headie One and Lil Uzi Vert pulled out for unknown reasons. Jay1 replaced One and a surprise guest, Skepta, replaced Vert. Also, ASAP Rocky pulled out, due to legal issues. On the day before he was meant to headline, J Hus was added to the lineup and it was also announced that Rae Sremmurd would be headlining Sunday. At the same time, Polo G cancelled his performance, due to the birth of his child, and was replaced by Aitch.
Line Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Cardi B / Migos Tory Lanez Ella Mai Tyga Fredo Lil Skies Bugzy Malone Headie One (cancelled) JAY1 IAMDDB Maleek Berry NSG B Young One Acen | Travis Scott Future Lil Uzi Vert (cancelled) Skepta (unannounced) Young Thug Juice Wrld Stefflon Don Trippie Redd Sheck Wes Yungen Lotto Boyzz M Huncho Saweetie THEY. Unknown T Steel Banglez Cadet DigDat Deno Driz | ASAP Rocky (cancelled) Rae Sremmurd J Hus AJ Tracey Lil Baby Gunna Not3s Rich the Kid Ski Mask the Slump God Lil Yachty Denzel Curry D-Block Europe Loski (cancelled) J.I.D Polo G (cancelled) Aitch Russ Megan Thee Stallion Tiwa Savage Flohio Lady Sanity |
The sixteenth edition of Wireless Festival was due to take place on 3–5 July 2020 at Finsbury Park, London. In social media statements posted on 23 March 2021, it was announced that the festival would be moved to Crystal Palace Park and would take place on 10–12 September 2021.
In social media statements posted on 23 March 2021, it was announced that the festival would be moved to Crystal Palace Park and would take place at a later date than usual, due to Covid, on 10–12 September 2021.
Line Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Future with a surprise appearance from Drake D-Block Europe Digga D Giggs Gunna Ivorian Doll Lil Uzi Vert M1llionz M24 MoStack NSG SL Tiffany Calver (& Friends) Unknown T Young T & Bugsey | Skepta AJ Tracey ArrDee Blanco Central Cee Darkoo Fredo Hardy Caprio Jay1 Meek Mill S1mba Steel Banglez (featuring Sidhu Moosewala) Swae Lee Swarmz Tion Wayne Zie Zie | Migos Abra Cadabra Central Cee Charlie Sloth (& friends) Dappy Digdat Headie One K-Trap M Huncho M24 Megan Thee Stallion Mist Nafe Smallz Nafe Smallz Potter Payper Poundz Rick Ross Young Thug Yungen |
On 25 February 2022, it was announced that Wireless Festival would take place in Crystal Palace Park on 1–3 July, while a second and third festival would be held in Finsbury Park and the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, both on 8–10 July. Seven headliners would be split between the three locations: A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Tyler, the Creator, Dave, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, and SZA.
Crystal Palace Park Line-Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
A$AP Rocky The Kid Laroi Lil Uzi Vert Don Toliver Trippie Redd Ski Mask the Slump God Fivio Foreign Sleepy Hallow BIA Rico Nasty Nardo Wick Snoochie Shy Kenny Allstar More TBA | J. Cole Doja Cat Playboi Carti Gunna Ari Lennox Potter Payper NorthSideBenji Flo Milli Ms Banks Bas Lancey Foux French the Kid Tiffany Calver Swarzy More TBA | Tyler, The Creator Roddy Ricch Baby Keem Kali Uchis Little Simz Snoh Aalegra Ghetts AG Club Miraa May Bakar Knucks Sainte BERWYN Skiifall Snoochie Shy Kenny Allstar |
Finsbury Park Line-Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Cardi B Roddy Ricch Megan Thee Stallion Burna Boy Giveon Mahalia Arrdee Omah Lay Rema B Young Enny BackRoad Gee Ayra Starr DJ Cuppy Sian Anderson | SZA Summer Walker Jack Harlow 6lack Blxst Jhene Aiko Lucky Daye Queen Naija Yung Bleu Ace Nadia Jade More TBA | Nicki Minaj Lil Baby Lil Durk Polo G Lil Tjay City Girls Fireboy DML Skillibeng Shenseea Unknown T A1 x J1 J.I the Prince of N.Y BabyFace Ray Seani B Tiffany Calver More TBA |
Outdoor at NEC Line-Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Dave Summer Walker Gunna Little Simz Popcaan Blxst Fireboy DML Skillibeng Shenseea Unknown T DJ Target DJ EDU More TBA | Cardi B Lil Baby Burna Boy Central Cee Mahalia Lil Tjay City Girls Arrdee B Young Remi Burgz Jeremiah Asiamah More TBA | J. Cole Roddy Ricch D-Block Europe Jack Harlow Polo G Moneybagg Yo Digga D Potter Payper Knucks Enny Sainte BackRoad Gee French the Kid DJ Target Sir Spyro More TBA |
It was announced that Wireless 2023 would be returning for one weekend, at Finsbury Park. The event is due to take place on 7, 8 and 9 July, with headline artists Playboi Carti, Travis Scott and D-Block Europe, and 50 Cent as a special guest, all UK festival exclusives. Saturday day tickets sold out within 60 minutes of going on sale.
Line Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Playboi Carti Lil Uzi Vert (Cancelled) Metro Boomin Lancey Foux Ice Spice Yeat Latto Ken Carson Destroy Lonely Lola Brooke Kenny Allstar Remi Burgz | Travis Scott Lil Yachty Headie One Bryson Tiller FLO Joey Bada$$ Lucki Mariah The Scientist Clavish Tiffany Calver Nadia Jae | D-Block Europe / 50 Cent (Special Guest) Lil Durk (Cancelled) Popcaan Lil Tjay K-Trap Dexta Daps Glorilla Black Sherif Dreya Mac DJ Target Seani B |
It was announced that Wireless would return to Finsbury Park between 12 and 14 July 2024, with headline artists Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, J Hus and Doja Cat.[22]
Line Up | ||
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|
Nicki Minaj Future Destroy Lonely Ice Spice Sean Paul Vanessa Bling Veeze Ragz Originale DJ Target Remi Burgz[23] Kairo Keyz | 21 Savage J Hus Asake Gunna Sexyy Red (Cancelled) Fridayy Skillibeng Byron Messia Shallipopi Strandz Kenny Allstar Seani B[24] | Doja Cat Don Toliver Rema Tyla (Cancelled) Digga D (Cancelled) Uncle Waffles Ruger Teezo Touchdown Nadia Jae Snoochie Shy[25] |
Years | Name of Sponsor | Organised by | Notes | Location | Date | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005–08 | O2 | Live Nation & Festival Republic | as O2 Wireless Festival | 5–7 July | 2005–19 | |
2009–12 | Barclaycard | as Barclaycard Wireless | ||||
2013–14 | rowspan="1" | Olympic Park (2013) Perry Park (2014) | ||||
2015– | Official partners | Finsbury Park | ||||
July | 2021–2023 | |||||
2021–2023 | Official sponsors | |||||
2024–Present | Rockstar Energy | Official sponsors | Finsbury Park | 12-14 July | 2024–Present |