Billy Ocean announced as Darley Park headliner

Billy Ocean will perform on the Friday night

Billy Ocean has been announced as a headline act for the Darley Park Weekender 2026.

The singer will perform on the first night of the annual concerts in Derby on 21 August.

Derby City Council is hosting the event again, despite a significant drop in ticket sales for the 2025 shows.

Ocean will be joined by Wet Wet Wet lead singer Marti Pellow, who will perform as a special guest.

Derby City Council figures showed 6,203 tickets were sold for this year's Darley Park Weekender compared to the 11,000 sold in 2024

Figures provided to BBC News in September showed just over 6,000 tickets were sold for this year's three-day series of concerts from 29 to 31 August, down from 11,000 in 2024 and 15,000 in 2023.

However, city council leader Nadine Peatfield said the council was planning a "fresh take" for next year's event.

The 2026 festival has priced admission at a minimum of £35 for an early-bird ticket, rising to £50 in the New Year.

Last year's early-bird price was £27, rising to £35 if bought on the gate.

Peatfield said she hoped people would take advantage of the early-bird prices and cited inflation for the rises.

On falling admission numbers, Peatfield added the improvements made to the 2025 event, after hundreds of complaints about the 2024 weekend, will aim to bring people back.

Council leader Nadine Peatfield said the authority was planning a "fresh take" for the 2026 festival

"We have bigger names for next year and rather than focusing on three bands and spreading the cost of booking those, we've focused on the top two - so same funding but bigger names," she said.

"So we hope the attendances will be high."

Peatfield added: "I'm thrilled we've got two renowned international artists topping the bill on the Friday night.

"For kids of the 80s, they are icons for so many of us.

"I had a poster of Marti Pellow on my wall and I still remember the dance to When The Going Gets Tough. It's going to be fantastic."