T In The Park Kicks Off

Thousands of revellers are flocking to Balado for the final time to celebrate the best of music.

The last T in the Park to be held at Balado gets underway today. Festival organisers DF Concerts, founding partner Tennent's Lager and a daily crowd of 85,000 music fans are getting ready to mark the end of an era with a huge send-off party for the festival's much-loved Kinross-shire home.

The biggest ever Friday bill will see fan favourites Biffy Clyro headline the festival for the first time. They'll make T in the Park history by becoming the act which has played the festival the most, with what will be their 10th performance.  
 
Calvin Harris will close the Main Stage on Saturday, a day which will also see performances from Paolo Nutini and Pharrell Williams - before Arctic Monkeys become the last ever act to play T in the Park at Balado when they close the festival on the Sunday night.
 
Other performers over the weekend include the headliners of T in the Park's first year at Balado - The Charlatans and Paul Weller - who return for the final Balado outing, with both acts taking to the stage 18 years to the day after they performed at the festival’s debut in Kinross-shire, on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
 
Festival Director Geoff Ellis said: 

"This weekend, we mark the end of an era. The Balado site has never looked more beautiful, and we're getting ready to give our much-loved home for the past 18 years the incredible send-off it deserves. We're really looking forward to celebrating one last time here with the greatest audience in the world, and can’t wait to welcome you all as we throw Balado a farewell party."
  
George Kyle, Head of Sponsorship for Tennent's Lager, said: 

"Tennent's have been the T in T in the Park from the very first year at Strathclyde Country Park, right through to today, as we get ready to bid a fond farewell to Balado. As founding partner of T in the Park, we've enjoyed some wonderful memories here, and I’m sure this weekend will be very special for everyone involved.”"
 
Ahead of T in the Park's move to pastures new within the beautiful grounds of Strathallan Castle in 2015, here's a look back at the legendary Balado Years.
 
The Balado Years in numbers

21 years ago, T in the Park was born, cofounded by festival organisers DF Concerts and founding partner Tennent's Lager in 1994.

For 18 years, T in the Park has been held at its much-loved Balado home (between 1994 - 1996 it was held at Strathclyde Country Park).

Since 1997, Balado has welcomed over 2.7 million festival goers to the glorious Kinross-shire countryside, that's more than half of the population of Scotland.

More than 2800 artists have played Balado over the 18 years, including Foo Fighters, The Stone Roses, Rihanna, The Killers, The Who, Daft Punk, Rage Against the Machine, Kraftwerk, James Brown, Kylie Minogue, Oasis, Blur, Blondie, Jay Z, Beyoncé and Eminem.

Over the past 18 years, Team T has featured over 126,000 members, with around 7000 people coming together to make the festival happen each year.

Approximately 8,500 flags have been pitched in the Balado countryside over the years.

Over the years, more than 540km of fencing has been placed at TITP - that’s 61 times the height of Mount Everest. That’s not including the 153km of perimeter fencing which has surrounded the site – that’s the equivalent of the West Highland Way.

Over the festival weekend, T in the Park becomes the 5th largest town and the largest city centre in Scotland over the festival weekend.

Biffy Clyro have played Balado, and T in the Park, the most times, with their Main Stage headline set on Friday taking their total to 10.

There have been 44 Balado sun-sets at T in the Park.

Over 315,000 tents have been pitched in the legendary Balado campsite.

T in the Park has won 17 major awards throughout the Balado Years, including Pollstar's International Festival of the Year 2013.