Festival fans frustrated by BBC’s ticket website crash

Fans trying to get free tickets for the BBC’s biggest outdoor festival were disappointed when the website crashed under huge demand.

Many were faced with error pages, “access denied” messages and long delays while trying to place their order for Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend, after it was announced that American chart stars Jay-Z and Rihanna will headline the event on June 23 and 24.

Fifty thousand free tickets are being made available for each day of the festival, part of the Cultural Olympiad, with priority given to people living near the venue at Hackney Marshes.

But as Radio 1 claimed its ticketing agency was “experiencing high volumes of traffic”, many would-be applicants vented their anger on the event’s unofficial Facebook page.

A second wave of tickets was being made available from 4pm today. A message on the Radio 1 Twitter account asked listeners to “bear with us”, and added: “We’re working hard to get this fixed as soon as possible.”