Sneak peek behind the scenes of festival

Two large stages, various food outlets and a big disco ball are just some of the things being prepped at Hylands Park, as it gears itself up to host Radio 2 in the Park.

Up to 65,000 music lovers are due to descend on the Georgian grounds, just outside Chelmsford, during the weekend to watch pop and rock royalty, including Bryan Adams, Def Leppard and Essex’s very own Olly Murs.

With the final preparations being put in place on Thursday to open the doors on Friday afternoon, Rhys Hughes – head of live music and events at the BBC – said seeing the site come to life was “rewarding”.

“It’s a beautiful site. It’s got festival heritage,” he said.

The venue, known for its beautiful gardens and 1700s stately home, is well versed in staging big events, having hosted V Festival several times between 1996 and 2017.

Mr Hughes, who has been in his role for the past eight years, played a big part in bringing one of the BBC’s flagship festivals to Essex.

“I love live events, it brings great joy to my heart to see the site come to fruition from when we did the first site visit in [last] September and talking about this as a venue,” he said.

“Seeing it come to life now is rewarding.”

In recent years, Radio 2 in the Park has visited Leicester and Preston – a conscious decision to go to places that “don’t get as many big festivals”.

Talking about the decision to come to Chelmsford, he said “sometimes I do feel towns around London slightly get overlooked”.

He added that Preston City Council estimated £5.3m was brought in to the local area during the event and he hoped the Essex city would get a similar boost.

Elsewhere on the site, Andy Grey, production director at Far and Beyond, said there were about 70 people helping to set up the main stage.

He said the recent wet weather had “slowed us down a little bit”, but “we are used to working in the British weather”.

“We’re making things work. The main stage is starting to take shape,” he said.

Sound engineer Joe Baker said he had travelled four hours from Liverpool to come to work at the festival.

The DJ Stage was first introduced in 2023 and this weekend fans can expect sets from Scott Mills, Rylan and DJ Spooney under a huge disco ball.

While setting up the decks, he said himself and the wider team had been getting the stage ready for the past two days, and he was really looking forward to the event.

Meanwhile, Chris Halls had a much easier trip from Chelmsford to help prepare the main stage.

“I am a roadie – we lift and shift the gear,” he said.

“I’ve been here since 6am.

“I’m looking forward to seeing some famous faces.

“We’ve been at it since Wednesday morning. It’s going to be full-on… and then we have to take it all down on the Sunday.”

All the details about this year’s Radio 2 in the Park, including where to listen and watch across the BBC, can be found here.