SUMMER | FEATURE
Size isn’t
everything
Words: Sean Wyatt-Livesley
Now in its fourth iteration, Access takes a look at Mighty Hoopla, the ever-
popular queer festival in Brockwell Park that does things its own way
W
hile there may be a relative
smorgasbord of events this
season, the number of ‘queer’
events still remains small in number. With
June recently termed ‘Pride Month’, and
London Pride taking place on the first week
of July, the LGBTQ+ audience has never been
a more noticeable demographic.
There are some events that cater for such
an audience, such as Sink the Pink (London),
Love Sensation (Dublin) and WHOLE festival
(Berlin), but one event is standing out above
the rest — Mighty Hoopla.
Organised by East Creative, the event
has grown hugely since its early days, from
its small 3,000 attendance to the 20,000
Brockwell Park-filling experience we see
now. “We started out as a weekender at
Butlin’s in Bognor Regis in 2016, with a
capacity of just 3,000” says Jamie Tagg,
managing director of East Creative. “That
next year in Victoria was a big jump up for
us. It hits home when people compare us
to other major festivals, we feel like we’re
running a party with all our friends.”
From acts such as All Saints, Will
Young, Years & Years to Chaka Khan and
Bananarama, the festival is offering up more
than just your average live music event. It’s
putting on a queer experience. While a lot
of festivals and live music events strive for
diversity, the representation of queer acts
has always been lacking. Mighty Hoopla’s
popularity is testament to the demand for
decadent pop festivals that are nothing but
fabulous. This year’s event took place on 8
June, kicking off Pride Month in London.
With such a large queer event taking place,
location is key. The rise in London of one-day
festivals and limited outdoor space means
that organisers and events are looking for
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more space. Mighty Hoopla relocated from
Victoria Park to Brockwell Park for this
year’s event because of All Points East, and
the space was certainly suited.
While Mighty Hoopla had many strong
points, the immediate benefit was the
overall feel of its new location. When asking
about how the Park worked as a venue, Tagg
responded: “We love it. The local council and
residents have really taken us in. The park
itself is beautiful, the trees in the middle of
the site make it feel different to any other
festival in London”. Mighty Hoopla, in its
new location, delivered a space that was
more akin to a village or town than a music
festival.
All good fun
But with such a location, security becomes
an issue. This year’s iteration was kept safe
by Showsec — and it’s not an easy job. “The
fact that the event was incident free from the
start of ingress until the end of egress was a
huge success. The complexities surrounding
egress were a big concern going into this
event” says Michael Asimonye, London area
manager of Showsec.
He went on to say “The relationship
with the local police was fantastic. This
relationship has been built upon from
previous events, and they understand how
we work.”
Of the series of London festivals Access
has visited, Mighty Hoopla had possibly
the easiest exit route, with local council,
security, police and residents working very
closely together. “After running Sink The
Pink for so many years, we know being safe
is number one on the list for both us and the
community,” says Tagg. “Poorly chosen or
trained security teams can ruin an event and
I think a lot of promoters know this now. I
think we are going to see a real shape up of
the industry over the next few years.”
Fabulously sustainable
While safety is paramount, the pop-
culture style of Mighty Hoopla is its
signature style. The extravagant outfits,
multitudes of glitter, and neon colours
create a visual collage rivalling that of
Henri Matisse. But with that come the
consequences of sustainability. “As a
glitter-soaked festival, we were expecting
a few grumbles when we banned non-
biodegradable glitter, but we didn’t get one.
Everyone was fully on board with the idea,”
says Tagg. From bio-degradable glitter, to
the introduction of recycling points and
water in recyclable tin cans as opposed to
water bottles, Mighty Hoopla took a firm
stance on sustainability. “We were really
happy with what we achieved on that front,
and it’s actually one of the first things on