Fifty thousand tickets for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend event have been snapped up in just over half an hour.

Pharrell Williams, Rita Ora and Scots singer Paolo Nutini are already confirmed to star in the annual music festival, being staged this year in Glasgow.

Tickets were given away in pairs during Nick Grimshaw's breakfast show this morning, with 25,000 available for each day of the two-day event.

The festival will be staged over the weekend of May 24-25 at Glasgow Green, with the full line-up announced next month.

As with previous Big Weekends, tickets were geographically weighted with an element of preference given to local residents, organisers said.

Fifty per cent of tickets were reserved for those living within the area covered by Glasgow City Council, 45% were reserved for those in the rest of Scotland, with the remaining 5% for other audiences across the UK.

A further 14,000 tickets for an additional dance event in the city on May 23 were given away on Friday in around 40 minutes, the station said. Radio 1 DJs Annie Mac, Pete Tong, Zane Lowe and Danny Howard will all star in the George Square party to kick-start the weekend.

Jason Carter, head of live music and events, popular music, said: "Radio 1's Big Weekend is the network's flagship event and every year delivers a stunning artist line-up.

"The event's reputation is such that every year ticket demand is huge. We are not surprised that once again tickets have gone so quickly."