Six music festivals in South London’s Brockwell Park will still take place this summer, despite a successful legal challenge against the local council and the events.
Last month local resident and member of the Protect Brockwell Park group, Rebekah Shaman, took Lambeth Council and event organisers Brockwell Live to court, arguing that they did not have the correct planning permission for the events.
Ms Shaman’s claim centred around planning laws which prohibit the change of use of parks for more than 28 days each year. Last week, the High Court ruled in favour of this argument, saying that the park would be used for as many as 37 days due to the scheduled events this summer.
The event organisers, however, have now given an official update on the festivals’ status, which include Mighty Hoopla, Wide Awake and Field Day.
Writing on Instagram, Brockwell Live said: “Brockwell Live can confirm that all events in the series will go ahead as planned.
“Friday’s High Court ruling dealt with a particular point of law and whether an administrative process can be carried out correctly… We take our stewardship of Brockwell Park seriously.
“As we prepare to deliver these much-loved, culturally significant events, we remain fully committed to its care, upkeep, and long-term wellbeing. With setup nearly complete, we look forward to opening the gates and welcoming festival goers later this week.”
This dispute has created much debate within the local area and beyond. Many residents, such as Ms Shaman, believe that such events are leading to an accelerated decline of the parks well-being, with Shaman responding to the ruling by saying: “This has been going on for years, it isn’t a one-off situation and it has been a consistent deterioration of the park.”
However, there are many that believe events such as these are essential to London’s vibrant culture and that they are crucial to the local economy.
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) have been one of the biggest supporters of Brockwell Live and Lambeth Council, saying: “The local economy – including independent shops, pubs, restaurants, and hotels – which sees a surge in business during these festivals, would be hit hard.”
Since the ruling, Wide Awake, Field Day, and Might Hoopla have all come out with separate statements (see above), confirming that all festivals will still take place and reiterating their “commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all”.
The situation has also created much debate on social media, with one user on X/Twitter stating that: “Real rock and hard place with this… there used to be so many free park events in London.”
Real rock and hard place with this. Noise complaint NIMBYism has so much of LDN tightly within its grip, but I also think its basically bad private companies can enclose public space to charge extortionate fees for us to see music. There used to be so many free park events in LDN https://t.co/5fKZgmixI2
— Arbeitology (@Arbeit_Fish) May 19, 2025
The first of Brockwell Park’s festivals is due to kick off this Friday with Wide Awake. Politically charged hip-hop trio Kneecap will headline the festival despite calls for their performances to be cancelled after their controversial Coachella performance.
