It was announced in late March that five major events will take place in London’s Brockwell Park this summer, including popular music festivals Mighty Hoopla and Wide Awake.

Local residential group ‘Protect Brockwell Park’, however, have voiced their concerns about said events, arguing that the council have ‘manipulated planning laws’. They have also raised issues such as environmental damage and the blocking of public access to the park for an extended period of time.

The legal issue stems from Lambeth council granting a certificate of lawful development to events company Brockwell Live. This certification would allow the temporary change of use of a space without requiring planning permission for a maximum of 28 days.

The festival organisers, Brockwell Live, have claimed that its events only span a total of 17 days. However, Protect Brockwell Park are making the case that this fails to take into account the additional time the area is fenced off during construction of the site, claiming the park was out of action for 38 days last year.

Speaking on their crowdfunding page, the residential group said: “We are local people fighting a million-pound company whose unsustainable business practices are damaging our trees, disturbing wildlife, compacting the soil, and fencing off huge areas of the park for weeks at a time.”

Damage to Brockwell Park last year. Photo credit: London Centric

The group make it clear that they are not campaigning for the full closure of these events, they just want to have their concerns listened to and enacted upon. Local campaigner, Lucy Akrill, told London Centric: “We’re not saying there should be no festivals at all… but this is too big, too impactful.

“So many people within the community have just had enough with the fact that the council claims they consult with the community”, she continued: “We have got to the point where it feels like legal action is one of the few ways we can make the council listen.”

Whilst the festivals themselves last just two weeks, Akrill said that last years events left the park “out of use for the whole summer and a boggy mess for the whole winter.”

Although over £30,000 has been raised, not all residents agree with the campaign. There is an argument that only one side of the debate was being heard.  South London resident, Ana De Liz, had her say on the matter, telling London Centric: “This legal action is driven by wanting the festivals to go away. And I don’t want the festivals to go away.”

She highlighted the importance if Mighty Hoopla to London’s LGBTQ+ community: “You don’t really get a lot of LGBTQ+ friendly festivals in the UK.

“We’re seeing a huge decline in venues and spaces where people are allowed to dance, have fun, make friendships, and have a nice time.”

A Lambeth council spokesperson echoed these views, stating how much Lambeth’s LGBTQ+ community gets behind Mighty Hoopla, as well as the festival City Splash being “much loved by our Black communities and beyond.”

This is an ongoing issue throughout London. After two decades of austerity, local council’s claim that they need these events to raise money. But local residents will continue to battle against them, arguing that “huge amounts of money are being made by the operators” rather than for the community.

The festival has announced that Pearl Jam, Imagine Dragons, A$AP Rocky and David Guetta will headline the 2022 event. The festival will be held on 16th-17th July 2022 at Hippodrome De Longchamp.

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A post shared by Lollapalooza Paris (@lollapaloozafr)

The festival’s fourth event in Paris boasts a line-up of over 50 further acts, all of which will perform across the festival’s four stages. Festival goers will also be able to take advantage of the French cuisine on offer, art exhibitions and an area in which provides education on how best to help the world. Other acts billed to play include Megan Thee Stallion, Jack Harlow, Anitta, Illenium, Turnstile, Phoebe Bridgers and Eurovision champions Måneskin. Ticketholders will be able to see headliners Imagine Dragons and famed DJ David Guetta on the festival’s first day, 16th July 2022. The second and final day includes headliners A$AP Rocky and rock icons Pearl Jam.

Lollapalooza was founded by Perry Farrell in 1991 and initially entertained the public as a touring festival. The festival has remained a staple in any music fan’s calendar and has led the way in live entertainment for over 30 years. The festival has now branched out all over the world and in 2005 made its home in Chicago. The recent expansion joins the long list of cities that host the annual event including Chile, Argentina, Germany, Brazil, France and Sweden.

The global festival is regarded a trailblazer within the live music and festival event fields. It was the first festival to intertwine musical genres in their lineups, include multiple dates, have a second stage and showcase electronic music acts on the main stage. Lollapalooza is considered a forerunner for holding festivals in cities and has spearheaded the city experience with locations across the globe. Outside of music, the festival has also made its mark on challenging the big issues. Lollapalooza was the first festival to combine the arts with activism and to counterbalance its carbon omissions.

The festival’s dedication to the planet is clearly evident and next year is no different. The festival’s website provides further information concerning their initiative, Lollaplanet. “At the heart of Lolla Paris’ commitment since day one, Lolla Planète is committed to the planet … and its inhabitants: alongside associations which each year raise awareness among festival-goers about sustainability and environmental issues, Lolla Planète will give a voice to those who fight for the rights of everyone. So you will find throughout the year a special program developed in collaboration with Label Emmaüs, a key player in the ecological and inclusive digital transition. Among the various activities of Lolla Planète to inform and learn in an interactive way, we will find in particular times of exchanges and workshops with Morgane Ortin, author and creator of Amours Solitaires who acts alongside the association En Avant All.”

The Paris festival is produced by founder Perry Farrell, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, Live Nation France and C3 Presents. This year the event would have celebrated its 30th anniversary. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the festival was postponed until next year.

Click here to purchase tickets.

The advice comes from a collaboration between the following bodies: the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), the Events Industry Forum (EIF) and Attitude Is Everything, alongside additional guidance from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and Public Health England (PHE). They have shared their current guidance in a document which you can read in full here. As the situation progresses, the advice will update.

Available now and free to all from @ThePurpleGuide website. The aim is to assist festival organisers, local authorities and other industry parties in assessing risk levels and planning based on a flexible, pragmatic and realistic approach to the current pandemic.

— AIF (@AIF_UK) October 13, 2020

The COVID-19 Supplementary Guidance offers a lot of information for festival organisers that will perhaps be of little interest to festival-goers. Naturally, much of this advice depends on a number of constantly changing variables, including the situation with testing for coronavirus and the potential for a vaccine to be in place. Terms that have become part of our everyday vocabulary come up here as well; there is talk of festival staff wearing PPE, festival-goers bringing their own disposable masks and hand sanitiser, and embracing the NHS Track & Trace initiative.

The document also contains a “mitigation checklist”, as relevant to the current state of the pandemic. This is a list of questions that comprehensively covers the planning and safety of every conceivable area of a festival, including the organisation of the outdoor space, crowd control, and the safety of festival staff.

The guidance is thoughtful with regard to all of this uncertainty; it notes, that the experience of putting on a festival during COVID will be a first for many of them, and also that COVID should not eclipse the rest of their health and safety provision. The COVID-19 Supplementary Guidance maintains a positive tone throughout.

Despite all the uncertainty that the industry currently faces, it concludes with a positive note: “ultimately, the music festival industry is principally defined by planning for and implementing mitigation of risk … Festival organisers are already practically in a very good place to meet the challenges that COVID-19 bring to the festival sector.”

Paul Reed, the CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals, said this about the new guidance:  “Risk mitigation is what festival promoters do for a living, so the intent of this guidance is to outline Covid-19 specific planning considerations that will allow for bespoke risk assessment approaches in liaison with relevant authorities and agencies … I’d like to thank the AIF Ops Group for leading on this important piece of work and also DCMS, PHE officials and the wider festival industry for their invaluable contributions.”

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The live events sector is in crisis. Today, we join with many others to call on the government to provide urgent support to protect an industry which means so much to so many, and provides billions to the economy. #WeMakeEvents (@fineline_lighting)

A post shared by Glastonbury Festival (@glastofest) on Sep 30, 2020 at 4:02am PDT

The document presents comprehensive and reassuring guidance about the state of festivals next year. It is undoubtedly going to be an enormous job for festival organisers, and much remains subject to change. In wake of the new advice, though, festival-goers can finally relax for the time being, and cast their minds longingly to much simpler organisational tasks, like what to wear, and who to see if the line-up clashes.

Along with this good news, Creamfields has also released confirmation of their 2021 lineup to the amazement of fans worldwide. In the midst of the pandemic, Creamfields is one of the many music festivals that have been forced to cancel their 2020 installment in respect of the coronavirus health concerns and requirements.

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#Creamfields2021 phase one line up is here! Limited 10 part deposit tickets available from £5 per month – creamfields.com/tickets

A post shared by Creamfields (@creamfieldsofficial) on Jun 27, 2020 at 3:00am PDT

In preparation for their momentous return, Creamfields confirmed phase one of their 2021 lineup to excited fans on Friday 26th June. A few acts from the epic lineup include drum & bass guru Andy C on Friday 27th August 2021, techno forefather Carl Cox on Saturday 28th August 2021, and terrific production trio Disciples on Sunday 29th August 2021.

On Saturday 27th June, Creamfields also took to their official Instagram page to post their 2021 lineup to over 200,000 delighted followers. The short video clip featured a montage of the festival, a sensory feast of partygoers, laser lights and booming sound systems, along with phase one of their fantastic 2021 lineup flashing intermittently across the screen. Some of the most impressive names on the expansive lineup mentioned in the video were London-based trance group Above & Beyond, Goldcoast Disk Jockey Fisher and the wildly talented DJ pioneer, Peggy Gou.

The already popular post gained over 3,000 likes and 7,000 views. Creamfields captioned the post with the statement: “#Creamfields2021 phase one lineup is here!” along with a direct link to the Creamfields website for 2021 ticket purchase. @creamfieldsofficial’s most recent Instagram post on this day declared the 2021 music festival as “the most affordable Creamfields EVER! Limited 10 part deposit scheme on sale now from just £5 per month”. The post detailed an exclusive offer for a 10 part deposit scheme for ticket payments along with a direct link to Creamfields official website. The post gained an understandably joyous reaction, receiving over 660 likes within an hour of being posted 

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#Creamfields2021 – 10 part deposit scheme announced, payments from £5 a month! Head over to Facebook to enter our competition!

A post shared by Creamfields (@creamfieldsofficial) on Jun 26, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

Established in Liverpool in 1998, Creamfields was one of the first large scale British music festivals dedicated to dance music. Since its conception, Creamfields has been famed for enlisting the cream of the crop from the electronic dance music world.

Over the past twenty two years, Creamfields has evolved from a one-day event with 25,000 attendees to a tremendous four-day experience with a whopping 70,000 attendees. On 13th May 2020 festival-goers were heartbroken when Creamfields official website cancelled their 2020 installment, saying: “We have been closely monitoring the global situation and it has become clear that it’s simply not possible for this year’s addition to go ahead”. 

Nevertheless, Creamfields recent confirmation of their 2021 return has given festival-goers everywhere something else to look forward to.

Tickets for Creamfields 2021 can be purchased here.

Michael Lang, who worked alongside Artie Kornfield to create one of the most influential events of music history in Bethel, New York, back in 1969, is considering this anniversary to celebrate fifty years of culture and music described as “3 Days of Peace & Music”, and bring it back into the modern age.

400,000 young people gathered to a rainy field between august 15-17th 1969 to attend the festival which Rolling Stone Magazine would claim as one of the “50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll”.

Bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Crosby Stills and Nash and Jimi Hendrix all played to a crowd of counterculture hippies and rockers in opposition to the Vietnam War and President Nixon.

The event itself had its fences cut on the opening night and due to a lack of time to prepare, the organisers had no choice but to allow the waves of music fans into the 600 acre dairy farm. Since then Woodstock has been replicated in 1979, ’89, ’94, ‘99’ and in 2009 with the latter being dubbed “heroes of Woodstock tour” which celebrated the 40th anniversary.

In 1999 a notorious riot broke out during sets of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Limp Bizkit and four people having been raped. Due to the violence Lange has expressed that he “does not believe the failings of 1999 would thwart the future event.

Lang told Rolling Stone that there would not be a 45th anniversary this year, but the 50th should certainly be a possibility.