American rapper Lil Wayne will play his first UK show in several years at the Strawberries and Creem festival.

The 39-year-old musician has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide and won five Grammy awards.

He was forced to cancel a UK tour in 2011 after his visa application was reportedly rejected by UK border authorities due to prior convictions.

His performance at the Cambridge event will be his only European show in 2022, festival organisers said.

Strawberries and Creem, which has been running since 2014, has also continued its pledge from last year to feature more female acts.

Artists such as Mabel, Ella Mai and Tems will be part of the line-up.

The festival’s organizers had committed to further work to achieve gender equality in crowds as well as on stage.
“This year, as we scale up to a full three days, we wanted to ensure our musical offering matched that level of ambition – as well as reflecting our incredibly diverse crowd,” said festival co-founder Preye Crooks.

“As a team, we also wanted to shine a light on some amazing genres and artists that aren’t always celebrated in full at other festivals.”

The weekend will include drum and base acts as well dance music, reggae, R&B and DJ sets from an all-female collective.

Measures to tackle sexual harassment and abuse will reportedly be strengthened during the three-day event to ensure women’s safety, the festival said.

The music event will run for three days in June at Childerley Orchard in Cambridge.