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Mighty Hoopla, Cross The Tracks, Wide Awake, Field Day & City Splash festivals, Brockwell Park - discussion

I think that the festivals are great, and it was amazing to go to Wide Awake and be home in 15 minutes. But am I naive in thinking that it doesn't need to be as expensive as it is?

We are the owners of the park and I feel lots of local people couldn't stretch to the costs of the festivals which were put on. I have a job which pays me enough to live comfortably, but I couldn't afford more than one day.

I know that top artists need top money, but I decided late to go to Wide Awake, having been invited by a mate, and paid over £70 for a ticket, once fees were added. It was £7.50 for a pint in a cup that was made of paper so I couldn't see was half foam by the time I was well away from the front of the queue. I guess I saved a few quid on pints by buying no more of them. Even water was £3. Could the council not ensure there is food and drink on sale at reasonable prices?

Yes, the Country Show is free to enter, and usually has a great music programme, but, again, it seems to me that of the many changes to the Country Show in the past few years, none have reduced the price of going.

I'd say those who went to the anti racism concerts in the 90s with the likes of the Levellers had no idea how good they had it.
I'm not in the industry but there has been quite a lot of news recently that the cost of putting on a music festival has absolutely ballooned in recent years, quite a few are chucking in the towel after this year as a result. I found a resale ticket for £30 the week before, I wouldn't have bothered if I had to pay the full whack of £70.

Still, even that is chicken feed compared to the mind boggling prices being charged to go to 'Wireless' festival 😵‍💫


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I'm not in the industry but there has been quite a lot of news recently that the cost of putting on a music festival has absolutely ballooned in recent years, quite a few are chucking in the towel after this year as a result. I found a resale ticket for £30 the week before, I wouldn't have bothered if I had to pay the full whack of £70.

Still, even that is chicken feed compared to the mind boggling prices being charged to go to 'Wireless' festival 😵‍💫
There probably needs to be more transparency around the commercials of these festivals. As I've said before, we all own the park. Is it just the case that Lambeth, on our behalf, agree a fee with the promoter and then the promoter is free to use that to make as much money as possible, including the use of a fence and preventing exit and readmission?

In that case, I can agree with some of those who say it is an imposition because they don't go. It just seems that Lambeth enable a commercial organisation to use the park to extract the maximum profit, and we're not really sure what the council, and us the residents, get from it.

Ideally, I would like to see the council take a greater stake in the festivals. Promote them as a council and employ a production company to hire acts and put on the show. Take the lion's share of the profits, ensure prices are fair, and, if being ridden sideways on prices is inevitable, get local breweries and food companies to do the riding rather than the likes of Brewdog.
 
There probably needs to be more transparency around the commercials of these festivals. As I've said before, we all own the park. Is it just the case that Lambeth, on our behalf, agree a fee with the promoter and then the promoter is free to use that to make as much money as possible, including the use of a fence and preventing exit and readmission?

In that case, I can agree with some of those who say it is an imposition because they don't go. It just seems that Lambeth enable a commercial organisation to use the park to extract the maximum profit, and we're not really sure what the council, and us the residents, get from it.

Ideally, I would like to see the council take a greater stake in the festivals. Promote them as a council and employ a production company to hire acts and put on the show. Take the lion's share of the profits, ensure prices are fair, and, if being ridden sideways on prices is inevitable, get local breweries and food companies to do the riding rather than the likes of Brewdog.
I think councils should focus on their core competencies & not become festival promoters!
 
I think councils should focus on their core competencies & not become festival promoters!
Leisure and recreation is part of a council's remit. It seems wrong to me that they rent a patch of the park to a private company and, once the council is paid, they wash their hands of everything commercial that goes on there. The council's input should be more than just taking a fee to allowing use of the park.

People take the train from the other side of London, having bought a £70 ticket, spend £50 in the festival, go home. That's £125 spent and not a penny of it in a local business.

If there are profits to be made, I would like to see those made for the good of the people of Lambeth, not for some multilayered set of private companies all controlled by a very small number of people who offer no employment to anyone and enter into contracts with companies hundreds of miles away who offer nothing to the local economy.
 
No one can deny that the atmosphere at Hoopla is friendly and relaxed. It's like a big amateur panto. Whilst the amaturishness of many of the early perfomances had a charm that I would enjoy at a free / pass the hat around / local show, it felt a bit of a threadbare afterthought for an expensive event (I had to leave before the headline). A friend suggested it was worth seeing Six The Musical but the sound from a neighbouring stage made it incomprehensible (although half the crowd seemed to know the words anyway). At one point up near Brockwell Hall there were three competing sound systems which meant wandering about to find a spot where one was significantly more audible than another. Barrioke (Barry from Eastenders - he said to spread the word that he's available to hire, if you need him) was an unexpected highlight along with an amusing one song interjection from apparently shitfaced Jedward. I had a lovely day although I am certain the sunshine (and company) contributed a lot to that. Although I can afford it, it still felt like a very pricey day out.

There was no wet mud but the ground was still really spongey underfoot in places. The woodchip / material was well implemented and is definitely a decent solution for the festival itself - Lambeth and Live Nation earnestly keeping everyone safe from the dasterdly mud below, as they put it. And at £12 a pint for IPA/cider (£7 330ml cans) and almost £9 for a single gin and tonic they certainly had the motivation to keep the show on the road. All served in the can, by the way. No cup. No ice for the can of G&T. Properly basic. Although staff did helpfully pull the tabs for you.

Yep. £12 a pint. (Lost larger worked out as the bargain option at £9 / pint as it was served in a slighly bigger can). Canned tap water (Liquid Death) £3. You could fill a bottle with tap water if you brought an empty in with you - but only cocktails were served in cups so there were no recepticles to make do with if you didn't.

The material was black weed suppressant textile - much of it bare of woodchip by Sunday. On a hot sunny day during lock down I made a slip and slide for the kids in the garden out of a sheet of black building material. Just having the black material on the grass in the sun for the day left the grass cooked to its roots - properly deaded - despite it having been a waterplay area. Brockwell grass has already been well and truly trampled and mushed, then starved of any light for at least two weeks and now baked on hot sunny days. Let's see what's left.

Of course the grass will grow back - eventually, with help. Possbily even in time for next year's festival. That's not really the point. It's a beautiful public park loved by its regular users. A little green oasis in a bustling city. A huge portion fenced off from May, some areas outside the main compound are reduced to caged zones and pathways become corridors for several weeks. Huge areas are likely to be out of use or little more than bare earth for the rest of the summer. Comparisons with Glasto seem irrelevant. Even though the intensity of use at Glasto is way lower on a punters / acre basis (back of a fag packet says about 20% that of Brockwell) Eavis says he has to power harrow most of their site after each year's festivities to deal with surface compression so that healthy grass can be re-grown. In past years we have not even demonstrated the skill to get the dead bits under the vehicle tracks to grow back effectively. And Glasto only needs to be fit for cows.

Unlike those who say they can't understand the increasing negativity about treating the park as a commercial entertainment venue and the proliferation of huge events, I can understand why a park is an attractive venue from both a promoter's point of view and a punter's point of view. I just don't believe the impact is justifiable, especially when compounded. I'd also say that if woodchip on plastic sheet works then this kind of event can be dropped almost anywhere with less impact. I certainly don't believe festivals of this scale need to be on our immediate doorstep - if people really are desperate for something of this scale but too lazy to hop on a train for the day then I'm not even going to bother to get out my tiny violin.

I don't buy into the argument that opposing events of this type and scale in Brockwell Park is some middle class attack on grass roots culture. This isn't the country show (well, not as the local event it used to be). It isn't Rock Against Racism (I've lived here nearly 30yrs and the last one was well before my time anyway). And it isn't Jay Day. It's almost Trumpian to argue that having this scale of events in Brockwell Park is essential for grassroots culture, when really it is little more than a megacorp power grab. And the argument that it's people who don't like music, festivals or fun who are arguing against Brockwell Park being designated a Major Venue for commercial events only serves those mega corps. I've got a not quite one year old, have still managed 3 festivals and probably 15 gigs in the past 12 months but still strongly feel Brockwell Park should not be designated Lambeth's Major Event Venues.

Obviously there are those who really think that their one evening a year larging it in Brockwell Park, rather than somewhere else, is worth the weeks / months of disruption and mess it leaves behind for so many. This strikes me as myopic. If Lambeth is really looking to support culture, I think it can be more creative. Camden Rocks, mentioned above, being a start.
 
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For those who missed out, here's Jedward ...

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... just before one of them - not sure which - jumped into the crowd next to me. Never thought I'd ever have the privilege of standing face to face with a Jedward. And in my local park!
 
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No one can deny that the atmosphere at Hoopla is friendly and relaxed. It's like a big amateur panto. Whilst the amaturishness of many of the early perfomances had a charm that I would enjoy at a free / pass the hat around / local show, it felt a bit of a threadbare afterthought for an expensive event (I had to leave before the headline). A friend suggested it was worth seeing Six The Musical but the sound from a neighbouring stage made it incomprehensible (although half the crowd seemed to know the words anyway). At one point up near Brockwell Hall there were three competing sound systems which meant wandering about to find a spot where one was significantly more audible than another. Barrioke (Barry from Eastenders - he said to spread the word that he's available to hire, if you need him) was an unexpected highlight along with an amusing one song interjection from apparently shitfaced Jedward. I had a lovely day although I am certain the sunshine (and company) contributed a lot to that. Although I can afford it, it still felt like a very pricey day out.

There was no wet mud but the ground was still really spongey underfoot in places. The woodchip / material was well implemented and is definitely a decent solution for the festival itself - Lambeth and Live Nation earnestly keeping everyone safe from the dasterdly mud below, as they put it. And at £12 a pint for IPA/cider (£7 330ml cans) and almost £9 for a single gin and tonic they certainly had the motivation to keep the show on the road. All served in the can, by the way. No cup. No ice for the can of G&T. Properly basic. Although staff did helpfully pull the tabs for you.

Yep. £12 a pint. (Lost larger worked out as the bargain option at £9 / pint as it was served in a slighly bigger can). Canned tap water (Liquid Death) £3. You could fill a bottle with tap water if you brought an empty in with you - but only cocktails were served in cups so there were no recepticles to make do with if you didn't.

The material was black weed suppressant textile - much of it bare of woodchip by Sunday. On a hot sunny day during lock down I made a slip and slide for the kids in the garden out of a sheet of black building material. Just having the black material on the grass in the sun for the day left the grass cooked to its roots - properly deaded - despite it having been a waterplay area. Brockwell grass has already been well and truly trampled and mushed, then starved of any light for at least two weeks and now baked on hot sunny days. Let's see what's left.

Of course the grass will grow back - eventually, with help. Possbily even in time for next year's festival. That's not really the point. It's a beautiful public park loved by its regular users. A little green oasis in a bustling city. A huge portion fenced off from May, some areas outside the main compound are reduced to caged zones and pathways become corridors for several weeks. Huge areas are likely to be out of use or little more than bare earth for the rest of the summer. Comparisons with Glasto seem irrelevant. Even though the intensity of use at Glasto is way lower on a punters / acre basis (back of a fag packet says about 20% that of Brockwell) Eavis says he has to power harrow most of their site after each year's festivities to deal with surface compression so that healthy grass can be re-grown. In past years we have not even demonstrated the skill to get the dead bits under the vehicle tracks to grow back effectively. And Glasto only needs to be fit for cows.

Unlike those who say they can't understand the increasing negativity about treating the park as a commercial entertainment venue and the proliferation of huge events, I can understand why a park is an attractive venue from both a promoter's point of view and a punter's point of view. I just don't believe the impact is justifiable, especially when compounded. I'd also say that if woodchip on plastic sheet works then this kind of event can be dropped almost anywhere with less impact. I certainly don't believe festivals of this scale need to be on our immediate doorstep - if people really are desperate for something of this scale but too lazy to hop on a train for the day then I'm not even going to bother to get out my tiny violin.

I don't buy into the argument that opposing events of this type and scale in Brockwell Park is some middle class attack on grass roots culture. This isn't the country show (well, not as the local event it used to be). It isn't Rock Against Racism (I've lived here nearly 30yrs and the last one was well before my time anyway). And it isn't Jay Day. It's almost Trumpian to argue that having this scale of events in Brockwell Park is essential for grassroots culture, when really it is little more than a megacorp power grab. And the argument that it's people who don't like music, festivals or fun who are arguing against Brockwell Park being designated a Major Venue for commercial events only serves those mega corps. I've got a not quite one year old, have still managed 3 festivals and probably 15 gigs in the past 12 months but still strongly feel Brockwell Park should not be designated Lambeth's Major Event Venues.

Obviously there are those who really think that their one evening a year larging it in Brockwell Park, rather than somewhere else, is worth the weeks / months of disruption and mess it leaves behind for so many. This strikes me as myopic. If Lambeth is really looking to support culture, I think it can be more creative. Camden Rocks, mentioned above, being a start.
Great post and agreed - impact is not justifiable.
 
In case anyone is doing their normal walk/run around the park, be aware that the footprint for the Country fair has extended down to the Norwood Road perimeter. You can walk on the unofficial perimeter path that's there, but it's narrow. Dry though.
 
In case anyone is doing their normal walk/run around the park, be aware that the footprint for the Country fair has extended down to the Norwood Road perimeter. You can walk on the unofficial perimeter path that's there, but it's narrow. Dry though.
My son usually has football on one of the grassy patches next to Norwood Road, will that be out of action? I'll need to warn his coach.
 
Didn’t see that. £7.50 for a pint of Hepcat was what is expensive but can easily pay the same in a pub nowadays.
ah reading again Rushy worked out the price for 330 cans and extrapolated up to a pint.
£7.50 for Hepcat as you say can be a pub price easily
 
ah reading again Rushy worked out the price for 330 cans and extrapolated up to a pint.
£7.50 for Hepcat as you say can be a pub price easily
If you read again you'll see my post last week was about Hoopla. One of the series of commercial events. Not yesterday's Country Show. Canned beer was all that was available at £12/pint for IPA and cider or £9 lager. Or £9 single g&T served in a can. Or £13 cocktail.

Hepcat is one of my favourite pints. Would have been delighted if that were available at £7!
 
If you read again you'll see my post last week was about Hoopla. One of the series of commercial events. Not yesterday's Country Show. Canned beer was all that was available at £12/pint for IPA and cider or £9 lager. Or £9 single g&T served in a can. Or £13 cocktail.

Hepcat is one of my favourite pints. Would have been delighted if that were available at £7!
Hey - yep, sorry checked what was being quoted.
 
The best value drink was a pint of 7.5% cider, coming in at £6.50. I didn't particularly enjoy drinking it but I was pleased to be getting merry for slightly less money compared to drinking cans of Brewdog.
 
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