Nas, Wizkid and Damian Marley announced to headline inaugural music festival in Croydon

A new south London festival that aims to “engage and inspire communities” will be headlined by Nas, Wizkid and Damian Marley, the first announcement from organisers has revealed.

The new south London event, titled “The Ends” festival, takes place on 31 May – 2 June in Lloyds Park, Croydon.

A press release described the event as an “extraordinary new field day where music and food will weave together into an exhilarating weekend in the heart of Croydon, one of Britain’s exciting and vibrant boroughs, in partnership with Croydon council”.

“A first for Croydon”, they continued. “The Ends festival will see 15,000 music lovers each day flock to Lloyd Park with the festival aiming to engage and inspire local, national and international communities of composers, performers, creators, and concert-goers through world-class performances.”

Nas, who will headline the opening night, has sold over 30 million records worldwide in a hip-hop career that has lasted over 25 years. Wizkid, headliner of the second night, was the first African act to headline the Royal Albert Hall and has enjoyed more than 200 million streams on Spotify. The festival will be closed by reggae icon Damian Marley, winner of a 2002 Grammy for his album Halfway Tree, and son of Bob Marley.

The festival in the borough is seemingly long overdue, give that Croydon has produced some of the best contemporary artists in the UK, including Stormzy, Loyle Carner, and Nadia Rose.

More announcements for the festival will follow in due course.

Tickets for the festival go on sale on 19 December and start at £50 for a day ticket, and £135 for a weekend pass. Residents with a valid Croydon postcode will be offered an exclusive 48-hour pre-sale.