Radio 1’s Breakfast Show was broadcast live from Sunderland earlier ahead of the Big Weekend.
The city will host the music festival for the first time since 2005 from 22 to 24 May at Herrington Park.
Host Greg James said “early indications tell me that this is going to be an amazing Big Weekend in an amazing city,” after finding a pub that sold £2 pints and being given pink slices.
In a temporary radio studio in the middle of Keel Square, James gave listeners the opportunity to win free tickets, some of which were eventually found opposite the Sunderland Empire.