The festival has been running at the South Downs site since 2011, located just outside Winchester in Hampshire. It stands out from other festivals with its curated storylines and lore which tells of aliens and dystopian megacorporations, the unique design of its stages and festival grounds, and its culture of inclusiveness. They draw all manner of alternative acts, primarily electronic, ska and reggae, with past headlining alumni including Gorillaz, Wu Tang Clan and The Specials.

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  The atmosphere can only exist within the beautiful scenery of the South Downs woodland, which was designated national park status in 2010 and has been an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty since the 1960s. As such, the environmental impacts of a large-scale annual music festival in the region has attracted widespread criticism from conservation groups, as well as local residents who suffer from the noise pollution and traffic congestion. The BBC heard from local Alisson Mathews, who lives 2 miles from the festival grounds, about her experience every August. She said she could hear the pounding bass and drum beats from Boomtown “almost constantly in our house and garden” and added “by Sunday night we are exhausted from the lack of sleep. I find it particularly disappointing to see the park authority failing its residents by ignoring its first purpose and doing nothing to encourage Boomtown to find an alternative venue outside the protected landscape.” The BBC’s article also quotes complaints from Christopher Langford, who objects to the use of the national park for the purpose, saying “national parks should be havens for nature, not environments damaged by large-scale music festivals.” In order to continue their activity, Boomtown’s organisers have had to pledge to several new rules to protect the environment. A new meadow spanning 4.2 acres must be created to foster biodiversity at the site by South Downs Way, with protection for bats, barn owls, and other bird species native to the area. Additionally, they will be subject to independent ecological surveys every year to monitor impacts on wildlife like badgers, butterflies, birds and reptiles. NME referenced Councillor Janet Duncton, who spoke positively of Boomtown’s footprint in the region, saying “I’ve visited the site before, during and after the festival, and in my view it has been well managed. A lot of people get a great deal of pleasure from this, and don’t we all need a bit of that? I think five years is a perfectly reasonable time to allow them to continue.” Boomtown’s Director Shula Rael says “The people behind the festival understand the purpose of this park. We take those responsibilities seriously, and we deliver against them.”  

 

 

 

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Permission to hold the festival in its current state until 2030 was granted by South Downs National Park Authority, the body responsible for the park. It allows one Boomtown Festival event a year at Matterley Estate, up to a maximum of 75,999 attendants, and a further 1,000 for their Sunday. Boomtown’s co-founder Luke Mitchell has described this year’s festival as one that will “encapsulate everything we love: intricate film-set worlds, twisting storylines, bouncing dancefloors, and diverse expressions of music and art”

Boomtown Festival: Chapter Five runs from the 12th to the 16th of August 2026 in the South Downs National Park, with top-billing acts Kneecap, Scissor Sisters, Madness and Skrillex. Tickets are sold out, but fear not – the festival will return in 2027.