Pria Rai
BBC Newsbeat presenter at Big Weekend, Luton

I’m watching this with self-confessed Sabrina ‘strangers’.

And yet they’re still stood dancing in the rain.

Manish Pandey
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

The bright orange of Sabrina and the screens behind her are providing a lot of light, with everything else so grey.

People are still vibing and dancing in the crowd, while getting soaked wet.

“You guys are awful loud," Sabrina says and asks if she can call Luton "LuLu".

Some cheers.

“OK then!”

A man in front of me groans in frustration and says “no, please don’t".

Manish Pandey
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

Sabrina's arrived. So have the umbrellas, hoods and coats.

“Scream for me," she says, so the crowd obliges.

“It’s raining, scream louder!”

And we do.

Mark Savage
BBC Music correspondent

Sabrina Carpenter has made an early claim for song of the summer with her breezy pop anthem Espresso.

Spun from sugar, fiendishly catchy and full of meme-able lyrics, it’s been number one for the last four weeks – and the moment she plays the opening bars, Luton is going to kick off.

Image source, Reuters

Newcomers will be delighted to hear there’s more to Sabrina than just that breakout hit.

A former Disney star, she’d been plugging away at a musical career for 10 years when her fifth (fifth!) album Emails I Can’t Send finally connected.

That was largely due to the viral success of the song Nonsense, and it’s ad-libbed outro: “This song catchier than chickenpox is / I bet your house is where my other sock is”.

In concert, she regularly rewrites those lyrics to make them specific to the city she’s in.

So let’s she what she comes up with as a rhyme for Luton.

Crouton? Gluten? Susan?

Oh, I give up.

Manish Pandey
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

The rain has started, people are putting their coats and ponchos on.

This reporter only has a small red fleece with no hood.

Manish Pandey
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

The crowd chants “Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina…”

They are waiting eagerly for the Espresso star.

Pria Rai
BBC Newsbeat presenter at Big Weekend, Luton

The DJ sets between acts have been real crowd pleasers this weekend.

The job of keeping people moving and engaged as rain threatens is not to be laughed at.

Eat Sleep Rave Repeat is met with cheers while everyone gets into position for Sabrina Carpenter on the main stage.

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

There are plenty of people here to see Sabrina Carpenter, one of them being Maansi.

“My inner child is excited to see her,” she says.

We’re expecting a number of hits, such as Espresso and Feather – but Maansi is most looking forward to Nonsense, specifically the outro.

Sabrina is known to rhyme the end of the song with the place she’s performing in, so we’re wondering what she has in store for Luton.

She’s due to perform on the Main Stage soon at 16:30 BST.

Mark Savage
BBC Music correspondent

An epidemic of pogoing broke out in the new music tent earlier, as Sea Girls whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

The crowd were word perfect on everything from the band's debut single Call Me Out to the more recent Midnight Butterflies - and the exotically named frontman Henry Camamile is taken aback.

“You’re killing me, Luton,” he says, before launching into I Want You To Know Me.

It’s proper indie disco vibes in here - with the band’s upbeat anthems recalling the early 2000s heyday of Bloc Party and The Killers.

“We first played here in 2018 on the Introducing stage,” says Henry.

“It’s beautiful to see how it’s changed. So many people!”

Annabel Rackham
BBC Culture reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

Fresh from touring Australia, Everything Everything are back on home soil.

The Manchester band are met with big cheers as they enter the New Music Stage, opening with some of their biggest hits, including new single The End of the Contender and Pizza Boy.

If you’re watching along on BBC iPlayer you might spot a few pizza hat-wearers in the audience - we presume it’s not a coincidence!

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

Over on the BBC Introducing stage, York’s very own Beth McCarthy says her next song is all about discovering she liked girls but had no idea how to talk to them.

So she wrote a song about it - one that’s got the audience here singing along.

Mark Savage
BBC Music correspondent

Indie supergroup Fizz opened the new music tent earlier this afternoon, at 13:15, with a rambunctious, free-spirited set of psychedelic pop.

Comprised of solo stars Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac, Dodie and Martin Luke Brown, they’re all multi-instrumentalists, swapping guitars for drumsticks and clarinets mid-song.

A colourful blast of energy, they got the day started in proper party mode - even finishing their set with a “cat mode” version of their single Secret To Life.

That’s the first time I’ve heard an audience all meowing in harmony.

And probably the last, unless Coldplay veer wildly off script tonight.

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

Irish singer CMAT kicked off her set with plenty of head banging as she got us going with California.

Maybe a few too many sore heads here from late night parties yesterday.

“I’ve seen better dancing in Heathrow!” she jokes while getting the crowd to join in with a two-step sway.

“I’ve seen better in Gatwick,” CMAT says before adding, “I’ve never been to London City because I’m not posh".

The first Luton airport pun of the festival?

Danny Fullbrook
BBC Three Counties Radio

Image source, BBC/KIAN BOYLE

A rapper who was told he might have to cancel his performance at Radio 1's Big Weekend said how he "made the most of it" and saved his set.

Milton Keynes artist Cam Thomas, 28, was scheduled to play his first festival on the BBC Introducing stage at the Stockwood Park event, but circumstances beyond his control meant a member of his band could not access the site.

He said: "Life is going to throw curveballs at you, I wish it didn't do it today, but lessons learned... it is what it is."

The missing band member arrived at the stage before the allotted slot had finished and the rapper managed to perform, albeit a shorter set than planned.

Image source, BBC/CAM THOMAS

When asked if he was stressed when his band member did not appear, he laughed and said: "You don't understand, that will stay with me for a while.

"I'm still super amped to be here, I know it didn't go 100% to plan but I feel like we got the job done," Cam Thomas says.

The artist was excited to perform on the BBC Introducing stage, having been supported by the platform since he first submitted music to it in 2021.

Read more on this story here.

Mark Savage
BBC Music correspondent

Singer-songwriter Declan McKenna made his name with sprightly indie songs that tackled serious subjects like corporate corruption and teenage suicide.

Some of those songs – in particular his debut single, Brazil – have become 21st Century anthems.

But on his new album, Whatever Happened To The Beach, McKenna shrugged off the “poet of a generation” tag, and made a collection of songs that he calls “hella weird”.

"I got to a point where I felt like I had to do things in a somewhat serious manner," he told me earlier this year.

"This time, I went back and was like - maybe I don't actually have to do that. I just tried to let things happen and not sculpt songs into meaning something specific, when they just felt good," Declan says.

Electric, eccentric and kinetic - this should be the feel-good performance of the afternoon.

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

For so many people they are iconic and genuine global superstars.

When we asked Chelsea, Maddy, Will, Annie, Maisie and Natalie who they were looking forward to seeing today, the first name that immediately jumped out was Coldplay.

The band's concerts are known for the white flashing wristbands – and they are being given upon entry here too.

This group of fans chose to leave their wellies in the car and opted for trainers instead because they are “feeling optimistic”.

We’ll see how that works out…

Danny Fullbrook
BBC Three Counties Radio

Declan McKenna is hoping the weather at Big Weekend holds out for when he appears on the main stage in about five minutes' time.

The Hertfordshire-raised artist is excited to play songs from his latest album: What Happened to the Beach?

"It's kind of a summery album so I'm glad we got to summer; it feels like you want to play it on a sunny day," Declan says.

Pria Rai
BBC Newsbeat presenter at Big Weekend, Luton

Rapper AJ Tracey kicked things off on the main stage today at 13:00.

He spoke to Newsbeat beforehand and shared some of his dressing room essentials.

“We’ve got some alcohol, water too (sparkling and still) - gotta stay hydrated. Crisps and some fruit behind… they’re hidden but they are there,” he says.

There is also tea because apparently the Ladbroke Grove artist “loves tea”.

And important clothing too, he says: “Socks and boxers, because if you’re sweating on stage, you don’t want to go home sweaty.”

AJ Tracey says it means “a lot” to perform at Radio 1's Big Weekend, because even though he hasn’t dropped an album cover for a few years, he is still wanted as a performer.

Annabel Rackham
BBC Culture reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

The weather in Luton hasn’t stopped Charlie Hedges from bringing the sunshine to the BBC Radio 1 Dance stage.

A big crowd has gathered for her set, where she’s been playing some White Isle favourites, including from Calvin Harris and Disclosure.

Got to respect the dedication this early into a Sunday afternoon!

Image source, Mark Allan/BBC

There's another very strong line-up today at Stockwood Park.

Coldplay headline the main stage tonight at 20:55 BST.

AJ Tracey and London Grammar already got things under way on the same stage this afternoon. We're also expecting Declan McKenna at 15:20, Sabrina Carpenter at 16:30, Olly Alexander at 17:40 and Vampire Weekend at 19:05.

Meanwhile, over on the new music stage Fizz and Sea Girls have been performing. They'll be followed by CMAT at 15:00, Everything Everything at 15:55, Remi Wolf at 16:50, Teddy Swims at 17:45, Olivia Dean at 18:45 and beabadoobee at 20:00.

We've seen some amazing gigs on Friday and Saturday in Luton.

Here's to a memorable send-off on the festival's final day!